


Inkeri of Asgard

by Raconteur86



Category: Thor (Movies)
Genre: Good Loki, Jötunn Loki, Loki Needs a Hug, Loki-centric
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-11-09
Updated: 2017-10-05
Packaged: 2018-08-29 23:43:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 21,297
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8510290
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Raconteur86/pseuds/Raconteur86
Summary: My first published story. Loki/OC. Inkeri, a young Asgardian scientist and healer meets her match with Loki. Can she help save him before it is too late? A/U Set in a universe where Loki is not such a stinker, and also before, during, after the events of the first Thor movie.





	1. Inkeri

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just fyi, this is a story I originally posted on fanfiction.net. I'm reworking it, although not too much. I just want to edit it to make it a little nicer and less cheesy. If that's possible. Ha.

Time is an exceptional thing. Time has the power to build up, to erode, to heal, to kill. But what is most extraordinary about Time is that it is constant, flowing. It is an inescapable, crack seeping, world destroying thing. Some have tried to control it, almost all have failed. Time does not weep for those who fail. Time just is. It has no feeling, save for vengeance.

 

And it will always come to reap its reward. 

 

-

 

Inkeri Geirdottir sat cross legged on her small couch, in her even smaller apartment, flipping through the channels on the television set she had bought herself last year as celebration for her promotion to head of obstetrics. She was the youngest department head at the hospital so far, and it felt pretty good. It shouldn’t have, though, especially since it only took her 12 out of her whole 53 years of Discreet Human Observational Studies to pull something like that off. But, as they said, may as well go out with a bang. 

She sighed and powered the device down, stretching and standing to gaze out at the tiny view she had of the Manhattan skyline. 

All of her success would be short lived, sadly. Of course, this was the most logical option. One could only perform research on other unassuming realms for so long, moving from place to place and changing identities until they were eventually discovered. 

Unless they were a shapeshifter. 

But she had only ever known one of those. 

She opened the window and turned to catch a glimpse of Stark Tower, gleaming brightly in the distance. 

It was regrettable to have to leave them so soon, as the time for her had been absolutely fascinating. Everything happened so fast on the tiny rock so far from her home. Medical theories came and went as quickly as celebrities were born and died, diets went in and out, and fashions came and were reincarnated in the department stores. 

She could barely keep up with it all, yet there was something she greatly admired in the humans as a species, which was their ability to fight against the odds, all in the face of their own short mortality, just so that they could live a few extra years. Just so that when they eventually did expire, their memories would be preserved for years to come. Their resilience had humbled her in a very profound way. 

Not that everyone in the universe wasn’t doing some version of that very same thing, it was just that most of them just lived for much, much longer. 

The intercom by her door buzzed, breaking her thought pattern.

Leaving the window, Inkeri quickly strode over and pressed the button to answer.

“Who is it?” She knew full well who it was.

“Samantha, darling.”

She smiled and buzzed her up, unlocking the door. For the most part, she had followed the New Rules, kept to herself, only making acquaintances moving on, never to see them again. The Ministry had allowed her to have her job on the condition that she leave the planet immediately when recalled, keep things professional, and never get too close to any of them, which was easy, as all of her colleagues lived for their professions and had very little time for personal lives. 

But Samantha had been different. 

She had met the middle aged woman on a walk through the park a few years ago when on a walk through the park. Samantha was in hysterics at the misfortune of her dog Jasper, who Inkeri learned later had become her only companion after the sudden death of her husband. The tiny beast had become stuck in a ditch that the city’s Parks and Rec had dug for whatever reason and abandoned as soon as the lunch hour had struck. After Inkeri crawled in to save him, the two, or rather three, of them had become the best of friends. 

Without knocking, Samantha pushed the door open, one arm around a huge bag, and the other around Jasper’s leash, turning as she came through and twisting around to push it shut with her hip.

“Ingrid!” Samantha called out, attempting to balance the bag and the now wagging Jasper equally.

Inkeri stifled a giggle. The English translation of her name had never really suited her, but it was easier for them to pronounce, so Ingrid it was.

“Shall I help you?”

Samantha gave up, letting go of the leash, permitting the little sausage dog run free into the arms of the woman she thought of as a surrogate daughter, and plopped the paper bag down on the counter. 

“Nope. Just fine here. I brought you some of those blueberry muffins you like from that little place in SoHo when I was shopping this morning, the ones with the sugar on top.”

Inkeri dove for the counter, all thoughts of the poor dog abandoned, and stuffed a muffin into her mouth.

“Mmm, fank you.” She mumbled while chewing.

Samantha laughed and leaned back against the counter. It never ceased to amaze her how much the girl could eat and still manage to stay so thin.

“So, my girl, why haven’t I heard from you in the past few days? Any big plans for this weekend? Another hot date with- what’s his name? James?”

Inkeri swallowed and shook her head. 

Courtship. That was another thing she had definitely not planned to do. If she had been caught, she would have been recalled for sure. She was always careful, however, going on a few dates here and there, just having some fun and ending things before they got out of hand. Earth men were always too quick to wed and have children. She needed to wait at least another few hundred years for that, but by then...well, obviously out of the question. 

“Sam, that was final months ago. Besides, he was not as interesting as I had hoped he would be for having a Doctorate in the maths.”

“Ah yes, Dr. Math. Well that’s unfortunate, but you know as my Irish grandmother always said-”

“If it’s not meant to be then get out of there and move on. Time is a gift that isn’t meant to be wasted!” Inkeri finished with a smile.

“Exactly!” Laughed Samantha. “Well then, what else is new?”

Inkeri’s smile faded. 

This was the part she hated the most. This was what the New Rules were supposed to protect her from, among other things. The Ministry of Science had recalled her suddenly. It was all for the better, they had said. They had cut her voluntary research years in half, as according to them, she had spent more than enough time on that backwards realm to suffice. Also, one of the very oldest head scientists of Research and Innovations was retiring his position, and had specifically mentioned her for the replacement. 

Not that she wasn’t flattered, of course. She was thrilled. She would have her own office, her own lab to head up. She could specifically concentrate on medical advances, her own area of scientific expertise, without permission from anyone else in the Ministry. 

But it still hurt to leave, and it felt only half earned. 

Meeting Samantha’s eye, she spoke. 

“I’ve been meaning to tell you, I have to take a leave of absence from work soon. I’ve got to go visit my parents. You see, it’s been quite some time since our last reunion, and I would love to spend the autumn with them, and make sure they’re alright. I’ve tried to visit them once or twice a year since I started college here twelve years ago, but I haven’t been able to since I began work at the hospital.”

“Oh, how wonderful! Where do they live?” Ingrid did have the strangest accent. She had once mentioned to Samantha that her family were Scandinavian and British, which would certainly account for the odd, occasional bouts of flowery speech she was prone to. 

Inkeri answered without missing a beat, the story memorized to death in her head.

“Tromso, Norway. Pretty far away. I may be gone quite some time, as they are...advanced in age. There is a possibility that I will have to move in with them for a while, to care for them. You won’t be overly worried or lonely will you?” 

Samantha shook her head. “Of course not dear. This gives me a good excuse to visit my son in California anyway. I will miss our weekly chats, though.”

Inkeri let out a relieved sigh. 

“I’ll be back soon, I promise.”

And she meant it. Even if it meant having to sneak away for a few days. She would come back to this human. 

Samantha reached forward and squeezed her arm reassuringly, finally taking a seat at the table.  
“Well, dear, I know you’re not leaving yet.” The older woman looked at her expectantly.

Inkeri laughed, going to the coat closet and pulling out her well worn chess board. 

“Yes, we always have time for chess.”

Jasper barked and hopped, as Samantha laughed and Inkeri set up the board. 

 

-

 

A few weeks later, as her plane taxied on the runway in Oslo, Inkeri thought back to that day. They had played long into the night, with her small window open to let in the rare cool breeze as the last vestiges of summer began to disappear, bringing promises of autumn and new beginnings.

She was abnormally quiet that day, even later as her bewildered taxi driver questioned her sanity before dropping her off in the middle of nowhere in the snow on the countryside. Was she sure? He kept asking. Really sure? 

She just smiled and nodded, making sure to tip him well, and watched carefully as his headlights receded into the distance. 

Turning, she held out her hand in the darkness. It was snowing. 

Closing her eyes, she concentrated, gathering a clump of ice water and snowflakes from the air to her. She formed a ball with it, manipulating the form of the molecules ever so slightly. Opening one eye nervously, she was ecstatic to find a great big glowing ice light hanging in front of her.

Gods it felt good to be able to do that again!

“Ha! I’ve still got it. Well, lead the way.”

The ball seemingly obeyed, and lit the path as she pushed through the snow to a small cave nearby. 

Pushing through a few branches at the entrance, and hoping there were no wild animals that had taken up refuge there, she made her way through a maze of endless tunnels, finally stopping in an antechamber that seemed to be a dead end. 

Placing her hand gently on a dip in the wall, part of the rock face of the cave shimmered and disappeared, leading her into a round room. Moonlight trickled in through a gaping hole in the ceiling, and snow was beginning to softly blanket the ground. 

Making her way to the center of the chamber, she let out a sigh into the darkness and looked up. 

It was time to go home.

Steeling herself for the journey, she closed her eyes and whispered into the darkness. 

“Ready when you are, Heimdall.”

 

-

 

As Henrik drove away from the crazy girl he left in the middle of the woods, he thought he should really go back just to check on her. But she had promised she would be alright, and with the sizeable tip she gave him, he could just make it back in time to take his wife to that new restaurant in town she had been talking about. 

He gazed in the rear view mirror one last time and could swear he saw a rainbow light flash in the sky, and then nothing. 

He shook his head. 

He was crazy, just like that crazy girl. 

Rolling his eyes, he turned up the radio, staying on the road that would lead him back into town.


	2. Kvervandi

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which feasts are boring, Fandral makes googly eyes, and Hogun thinks deep thoughts

Chapter 2

 

As Bifrost Travel goes, the journey is never really all that pleasant. 

 

Of course, not any Aesir or other superior race in their right might would chose to admit that aloud. 

 

It usually started with a stretching feeling that permeated one's bones, muscles, and even mind. Then, when you felt like your utter consciousness could process no more- for it was really not a sensation that hurt the body-you would flip, feet first, as the gravity of the wormhole pulled your entire being down with a sickeningly fast speed. 

 

Now, if you fought it, you could end up landing on your back, side, or even worse, your head. Again, however, it must be said, no self respecting being would ever admit to such a folly. 

 

No, it was best to just let the gravity take you, to endure the extreme lack of control for just the moment. 

 

Then there was the end part. 

 

A slight bend to the knee, foot makes contact with the ground, muscles tense, and vision unblurs. 

 

And with that dramatic finish, Inkeri was home.

 

Pulling up out of the crouch she landed in, she peered up at the Gatekeeper with a smile and warmly clapped him on the arm. 

 

“Heimdall! It’s good to be home.”

 

With a rare grin, he appraised her, considering her silly clothes for a moment. She wore some sort of tight blue roughly made trousers, with a bright pumpkin tunic that hit at the top of her hip, brown riding boots, and what he could only assume to be some sort of collared overcoat. Chocolate brown lines winged out from her eyelids, making her olive eyes shine bright. Her auburn hair had also been chopped short in some asymmetrical fashion, and she looked very much the part of a human.

 

“It has only been a short time.” He logically observed. 

 

“As it has. Be healthy and happy.” She concluded.

 

The somber man nodded and turned from her, his eyes focusing on some distant place, she knew not where. 

 

After the long trek down the bridge- if only she had thought to call for a horse- Inkeri made her way to the house of her youth, ignoring some of the bold stares from the other women who were already dressed in their finest. The entire week was to be the celebrated as the Feast of the Autumn Harvest. It also was of some significance, she realized, that Prince Thor would be crowned as king in only a few month’s time, and most of the maidens in the court had not yet given up on becoming his bride, and hopefully, the future queen. She stopped, seeing her reflection in the window of her parent’s home. It probably didn’t help that she looked like she fell into a hole in one of Yddrasil’s branches on Midgard and had just stumbled out on the other side. 

 

Smiling, she laughed aloud to no one at all, and then barreled in the front door of the house.

 

“Mother! Father! I’m home.”

 

After a few seconds of shuffling, and what sounded like a book being thrown down, Geir Ivanson, respected citizen and Public Defender of all other citizens of the Realm Eternal and all around General Law Expert for the Royal Court of Asgard-which was a very long title indeed- flew from the bedroom, tea cup in one hand, and candlestick in the other, pointed and ready for action.

 

“Who is this? A robber in my house? Unheard of! I’ll call for the guard.” He smiled. “And then defend you in court.”

 

“Is this before or after you candle me to death?”  
He shrugged. 

 

“It could really be either one or the other, I haven’t decided yet.”

 

Inkeri laughed as her father laid down his “weapons” and scooped her up into the tightest hug one could ever imagine. 

 

“I missed you too father. Where’s mother?”

 

He sighed playfully. “Why am I always second best around here? She’s out in the garden taking care of the flowers as always.” He looked around suspiciously from side to side before putting a discreet hand to his mouth. “Though between us two, she doesn’t nearly do as good of a job as you do.”

 

“Ha! You mean she doesn’t cheat and bring them back from the dead like I do?”

 

“Something like that yes.”

 

“Is that my daughter I hear? Back so soon?” Asta, unlike her silly husband, at least had the grace and elegance to walk slowly from the garden to her only daughter before hugging her and kissing the top of her head.

 

“You look well, my child.”

 

“Yes, your hair will be all the rage at the feast tonight, my dear.” Her father’s voice came from the kitchen where he had vacated to, no doubt putting on a kettle for tea. 

 

“Yes, father, it’s all part of my secret plan to be queen by next winter!”

 

“I figured as much!” Came the reply. 

 

The two women laughed and shook their heads, taking a seat next to the fireplace and chatting as Geir brought in all manner of tea cups and tea, cream, sugar, pastries, and whatever else was in the kitchen. 

 

“My darling, we have quite some time before we must go.” Geir had finally seated himself and was pouring a considerable amount of milk into his cup.

 

“Yes,” Asta finished for him, “I would like to hear about Midgard.”

 

Inkeri obliged them, and they both listened intently as she regaled them with frightening tales of Midgardian hospital emergency rooms and shiny metal surgery instruments. 

 

-

 

Sighing, Loki finally rose and left his books. To say that he was not one for these sorts of parties would have been an understatement. It would always go the same way- Thor would laugh and shout and drink and generally be in an all around merrymaking mood. Then someone else would shout and try to make merry louder. Which would change Thor to be in a brawling mood. Tables would overturn, wrestling would ensue- all in good fun of course- Loki would have to talk Thor out of some mess while Odin looked on from the golden throne disapprovingly. 

 

In the end, Thor would usually slink off with one of the many court ladies vying for his attention, and then Loki would finally be able to rest. That is, after the stern talking to from the All Father about responsibility and commitment and his future role as adviser to the king or some such nonsense. 

 

And then it would all start over again the next night. Gone were the days of fun and mischief making. The feasts were truly work. 

 

Not that he harbored any ill will toward his brother, of course. Not much, anyway. He was a good natured oaf, for the most part. But he was young, and stupid, with no signs of growth in sight. 

 

Loki loathed the day when the Realm would fall into the hands of the Golden Son, which would unfortunately be soon. 

 

Breaking from his thoughts, he began to proceed with an all too common dramatic slowness down to the Great Hall. 

 

As he approached one of the side doors, he could already hear Thor’s voice booming from inside. Heaving another sigh, he slinked in, hoping to go unnoticed long enough to pay his respects to his mother and father and then leave. 

 

“Brother!”

 

Too late. 

 

He turned to observe his older brother. Already drunk, naturally. Thor had a great large mug in one hand and a leg of meat in the other. He was swinging the meat violently back and forth in the air as if it was his hammer, no doubt recounting some tale of a battle that everyone already knew about. He had to stifle a laugh, wondering suddenly if it were possible to transform the precious Mjolnir into a leg of boar. He logged the notion away to contemplate later. 

 

“Brother!” Thor yelled again ever the more loudly. “Come meet my new friends!” 

 

Loki reluctantly approached the group and scanned the table. He nodded to the usuals, Sif, Fandral, Hogun, and the ever eating Volstagg. His eyes then fell upon the newcomers- a gaggle of women who had flocked to Thor’s side. From their formal attire, he could deduce that they were most likely traveling delegates from the nearby realm of Vanaheim. He fought the urge to roll his eyes as they swooned over his brother. 

 

There was another at the end of the table who he barely had time to glance at before Thor began reciting the names of the women one by one. “Loki, this is Alfhild, Nanna, Jorunn-” He put on his best, most charming smile, nodding politely to each of them in turn.

 

“And of course you must remember-”

 

Loki finally locked eyes with the woman at the end of the table. The arrangement of her hair was odd, highlighting an angular nose and sharp jaw, but her olive eyes shone bright with mischief, and he found her to be considering him with a sly, knowing smirk. She was probably the most beautiful creature he had ever beheld.

 

It was at about that time that his throat went dry as he recognized her. This was also, unfortunately, when his ever so handsome and charismatic smile sputtered and died, and he found he could only stare at the woman, dumbfounded, like some moronic buffoon.

 

“The Lady Inkeri.” Thor finished. 

 

“Though I know not how he could not remember her,” Fandral interjected, “They were the living terrors of all of the feasts of our childhood.”

 

It had been three hundred years, he figured, since he had seen her. Last he heard, she was finishing up her science apprenticeship in some other realm, then she went off to gods knew where in Midgard for a research project.

 

Her smile grew, and Loki cleared his throat in an attempt to regain composure. This was ridiculous!

 

“My lady.” He bowed politely and seated himself in front of her. 

 

“It is good to see you again Loki. You are looking well.” She had to stifle a laugh at his odd behavior. Although it was nothing new for him.

 

He pursed his lips, but said nothing. She had always refused to call him by his proper title when they were children. He supposed she did it to vex him. 

 

It had always worked.

 

“The Lady Inkeri was just about to relate to us some of her exploits on Midgard before Thor interjected with his story about the Battle with the Midgard Serpent.” Fandral explained to him while simultaneously eyeing her up and down. He couldn’t deny it. The man did have a gift. 

 

A gift that to his delight seemed to be failing him at the moment, as Inkeri’s eyes had not left him since he had joined the table. 

 

“Yes,” Volstagg continued for him. “Are they still doing those bloodletting practices? The thing with the leeches? Last I was there, an old woman had tried to give me a tonic of poultry feces and human urine for a mild case of indigestion.”

 

Inkeri finally broke her gaze to regard Volstagg with a laugh.

 

“No, no! I assure you, nothing like that anymore. They have actually become quite advanced in recent years.”

 

“Though they no doubt are continuing to kill themselves and each other at an alarming rate.” Stated Sif.

 

“Unfortunately,” she admitted. “But I do feel as if they are on the cusp of something great.”

 

Thor, who had somehow managed to drink even more mead during the course of the conversation, finally could hold back no longer.

 

“If you ask me, the whole program sounds like a bit of a waste of time. They’re still nothing but a bunch of backwards animals who know no more than to eat, drink, rut, be born, and die.”

 

Loki’s eyes shot from his oafish brother to Inkeri. Her smile had become sharp, and her eyes glinted dangerously.

 

He smirked and sat back in his chair. It had always been so entertaining to see her provoked. 

 

“Have you ever thought, your highness, that perhaps it is we who are backwards? For example, we still use the word “magic” to describe those of us who through our advanced genetics have abilities to change and control our surroundings with the power of our minds. We too, eat, drink and carry on for no purpose in countless feasts and parties.” She gestured to the scene around them. “We also rut, are born, and eventually die. We are not so different from them at all.”

 

Loki noticed with glee that Thor’s brimming mug had begun inching towards him on the table in menacing jerks every time she made a point. 

 

“So, with all due respect, my prince, perhaps you should leave the golden palace a little more often before jumping to conclusions about a race of beings that you do not understand.” 

Thor crossed his arms at her words in drunken defiance. Unbeknownst to him, the mug was about to tip over the edge. 

 

Loki was smiling so hard, it hurt.

 

“I do not have to see with my own eyes to know what is true and what is not. I am a prince of Asgard.”

 

The mug rocked back and forth as Inkeri lifted her finger ever so slightly.

 

Enough was enough.

 

A hand clamped down sternly over hers, breaking her concentration, and her head shot up to look at Loki, who shook his head at her, the wicked mirth in his eyes betraying his serious expression. 

 

She swallowed, her gaze flickering to his hand still upon hers. 

 

He removed it at once, and stared past her as if nothing had ever occurred. 

 

“Yes, your highness, of course. I apologize for my insolence.”

 

The table had gone quiet, the air seeming to take on a still and sour note as they all looked to their prince for his reaction. He smiled suddenly and chuckled grabbing the almost tipped mug and held it high in the air. 

 

“It is alright. Tonight we feast! Tonight we get drunk! Tomorrow we conquer!” 

 

The table raised their glasses at the customary toast with a ‘huzzah!’ and drank. Inkeri looked back to Loki apologetically as she gulped her mead and then stood. 

 

“Please excuse me friends. It was nice to see you all.”

 

She bowed to Thor, her eyes lowered in humble submission, then turned to Loki, tilting her head downwards as was appropriate, although he noticed her eyes never left his penetrating green gaze. 

 

They toasted to her again as she walked away, disappearing behind a grand velvet curtain onto one of the balconies and out of sight. 

 

Loki watched her go, feeling numb with cold and hot as fire all at once. It was quite a disturbing feeling. He rather liked it. 

 

“Who is she anyway?” One of the girls, Nanna, fumbled out in her inebriation, her proper court speech and training at the failing point.

 

Thor responded to her. 

 

“She is a master scientist and traveler, child of our public defender Geir Ivanson. She was raised as a child of the royal court, then left when she was of age to attend the Royal Academy of Sciences. She has always been very...different, as most of the scientists are.” Thor, decent man at heart that he was, regretted what he said as soon as it left his mouth, and gave the group an apologetic glance. 

 

The three Vanir women at the table burst into tipsy giggles at that. 

 

Different indeed. Loki thought.

 

He turned to see Fandral hungrily eyeing the direction in which she had gone, and stood up before the blonde rogue had the chance to. 

 

“I like different.” He replied to Thor with a forced smile. Babysitting time was over. Let Thor brawl and Rangnarok come. 

 

“If you’ll all excuse me.” He nodded at the group and turned, walking quickly from the hall. 

 

-

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a reminder- this is an A/U nicer, gentler, less messed up Loki..for now. I always thought that maybe if he had something good in his life he wouldn't have turned out quite so crazy.


	3. Caught

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Loki is a scalawag, Inkeri is sarcastic, and we learn a little more about our heroine's abilities

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Totally unedited as per usual.

Chapter 3

 

Inkeri stood leaning on the balcony railing watching the moons rise as she reveled in the cool autumn night’s breeze. 

Below her, she could see the palace training grounds, and to her left in the distance, she could just barely make out the triangular golden spire of her parents’ dwelling. 

Of all of the places she had been, there was no comparison to the floating asteroid-like mass she called her home. Centuries ago, her ancestors had terraformed and built the shining city upon the cliffs of the old floating rock. It did not revolve around a sun, as Earth or some of the other realms did, nor were the rising of the moons a real event, as one would discover if they were to analyze the technicalities and inner goings on of their world. Rather, they were a complex and near perfect illusion, made possible by grids and shields, science or magic, whichever explanation you would prefer to use for it. 

 

But to the Aesir it was real. The air flowed, the sun shone brightly down upon them, the nights were pleasant, food grew in abundance, and the people were left in want for nothing.  
Inkeri heard footsteps approaching behind her and grinned. 

“I had wondered if you would follow me.”

“Why yes, my lady.” She turned to see Fandral leaning coolly on the railing nearest to the door, hand resting comfortably on the hilt of his sword, and flashing his most devastating smile.

“How could I resist you? Do not think I did not notice your elegance, your grace, the coquettish gleam in your eye when you would gaze upon me this night. When you ran to the balcony, I could only assume your intentions were-” he approached slowly, and took her hand, bringing it to his lips, “to be here, alone, together.”

She blushed and giggled with her free hand to her mouth. With deeply hooded eyes, she removed her hand from his and placed it on his chest, leaning in close to whisper in his ear. 

“Fandral, I must admit, you have clearly interpreted my motives, and I wish have you, right here, in this very moment, on this balcony. I care not that the king and queen sit only meters away.”

Before he could respond, she took him by both hands and pulled him so close to her, they were almost touching nose to nose.

“There’s just one problem however.” 

“Oh yes?” he whispered, “And what is that?”

Her grin grew evil and she turned her head to the window on their right. 

“Unfortunately, at the moment, you are either examining some sort of insect or being ill in the hall behind a potted plant. Although with the amount of wine you drank tonight and the general heaving, I vote for the latter to be the most reasonable explanation.”

He turned, seeing that her words were indeed true. 

“Blast!” Loki scoffed. 

She laughed, and he let go of her hands and stepped back, letting the image of Fandral dissolve and leave him at his normal self.

“That’s much better. I don’t think you would make a very good blonde.” 

He harrumphed and crossed his arms, but the annoyance in his stature never met his eyes.

Turning around again to face the city, she continued to speak.

“I am happy to say that some things never change.”

He walked to the railing and leaned next to her. 

“As am I. I can see that your shortness of temper is still very much in tact. Or were you not planning to spill a stein of ale all over the lap of the First Prince of Asgard?”

In response, she looked up at him sheepishly. 

“I cannot help it. His ignorance and pride has always vexed me.”

Loki furrowed his brow.

“You speak very freely of your feelings of discontent toward my brother.”

Unfazed by his tone, she kept her eyes on his. He had always loved to manipulate people in that way, get them to say things they shouldn’t, divulge secrets and lies and intrigue. 

“Am I to assume, then, that your feelings on the matter have changed?” She challenged him.

He tsked at her disapprovingly. “You truly fear no repercussions from your words do you?”

She laughed at that. “I will gladly serve Thor as my king, and follow him to the halls of Valhalla if need be, do not worry about that.”

“And if I were your king?”

 

Her laugh died down, yet her smile did not fade as she leaned forward to respond. 

“Even doubly so.” She whispered with twinkling eyes. 

He considered her expression carefully for a moment before speaking. 

 

“You mock me.” He concluded with a frown.

“I would never!” She exclaimed with pretend indignation, unable to hide her laughter.

“So you speak traitorous words of your prince and mock the second in line to the throne? I do believe your time on Midgard has changed you.”

Inkeri caught his eyes as he rounded her into a corner in their verbal game of cat and mouse. His mouth could say so many beautiful, wonderful, horrible things, but his eyes never lied. And his eyes told her that he was having very much fun indeed.

“Well, now that you mention it, I was hoping to stage a coup in an attempt to grab the throne for myself. And since you now know my secret, I was thinking I might have to kill you. Or, if you would be so kind as to be useful to me, perhaps I could keep you alive for some purpose or another,” She deadpanned.

Loki smiled, baring his teeth like some wild cat about to consume its prey and leaned forward to caress her arm, causing her heart to leap up into her chest. 

“Oh? Well then, I may have a few ideas as to what I can do for you.”

 

She swallowed, her eyes as round as saucers and batted his hand away. 

“You are incorrigible!” 

He chuckled heartily at that. 

 

“That I am. And you are still impertinent. I have always liked that about you.”

She shook her head smiling. 

“I must admit, I have missed our time together at these feasts. Loki, do you remember the time we fizzed the mead?” 

 

He thought for a moment and grinned devilishly.

“Oh yes. It was all over everything. Father had it in his hair, and if I recall correctly, the queen of Vanaheim ruined her favorite dress.”

“Yes!” She remembered, “That purple atrocity.”

“Father was so angry, you should have seen him, lecturing me afterward looking like a sopping wet swamp rodent.”

Inkeri giggled. “I’m sure that was horrible for you.”

“But oh so worth it.”

She nodded in agreement and grew quiet, turning to look back at the night sky, and Loki uncharacteristically nearly stuttered, trying to think of anything to say to keep her speaking with him. 

“I see you have not lost your art for telekinesis.” He pointed out, rather lamely in his opinion.

“After over fifty years of hiding it on Earth, I thought I might have.” 

“You could have done it in secret.”

“I could have, but should I have gotten caught, I’m not so sure that the humans would have taken too kindly to an alien living among them with the power to rip them apart at the molecular level, so I thought it best to not use any powers the entire time I was there.”

“You lived among them, acted as one of their physicians, and did not once allow yourself to use your power to heal others?” He observed, intrigued.

She shook her head sadly, focusing on something far away in the distance. 

“I saw...many things. But I was not there to interfere, just to learn.” 

“And, what of your other ability?” he prodded.

She broke from her sad trance and smirked at him.

“I know not to what you are referring. Speaking of my abilities, that reminds me, how is your ankle?”

He grinned. 

“It is perfectly fine, as you are a very talented healer, and you know to what I am referring to. The one I discovered you had by accident.”

 _Yes, a very embarrassing accident. Must you take credit for everything?_ She spoke into his mind.

 _Aha! There it is! You should be proud. Very few of us have the gift for mind-speak._ He responded triumphantly.

“No, I have not forgotten.” She continued normally. “I have also not forgotten what it was like to have you poking around in my head when we were children and adolescents, and some things I prefer to keep to myself.”

He bowed his head charmingly. 

“As you wish, my lady. So, indulge me, as you seem the claim that the Midgardians are now intelligent. What kinds of things do they think about?”

She pursed her lips together, looking away from his eyes.

“I would not know.”

“Ha. You mean to lie to me?”

She shook her head and bit her lip. 

“All of the same things that we think about, just on a much smaller scale.”

With his usual smirk, he took her hand, leaning into her space, his emerald green eyes pulling her into a near hypnotic state. 

He was so close at this point, she could lean forward and kiss him.

“And what kinds of things are those?” He whispered darkly. 

Her mouth opened and closed. This was a different Loki than the one she knew from her youth, one she was not sure how to respond to. There was also the problem that she could not quite figure out how to give a clever answer, as her mind had gone blank. In fact, there were quite a few problems with this situation that she couldn’t really peg down at the moment, except for maybe the extreme urge to reach up and touch his face and...

A shuffling from the curtain broke their trance as a drunken Thor stumbled onto the balcony.

Oh how excellent.

Loki’s eyes narrowed and head snapped up to observe his glorious brother lean over the railing and empty the mostly alcoholic contents of his belly onto the unfortunate ground below them. A young golden haired maiden had also rushed out, and frantically trying to console him by pulling his hair back from his face.

Inkeri’s hand left Loki’s as she covered her mouth, her body shaking with laughter as she watched the scene play out in front of them. 

Loki groaned in annoyance. He would make sure Thor would pay for this later. In fact, he would pay for it now. 

“Inkeri, I am truly sorry, but I must escort my brother to bed.” He growled. 

Thor, who had come up for air, slumped himself against the wall, clearly enjoying allowing the girl fuss over him. 

“It’s quite alright.” She laughed. 

“Come Thor! I do believe it is time you retired for the night.” He bellowed rather loudly, and turned to the girl menacingly shooing her away with a slight flick of his hand.

She yelped, suddenly aware of the Dark Prince’s presence, and bid Thor goodnight, skittering away.

“Brother! I did not see you there.” Thor looked longingly through the curtain as his little strumpet walked quickly into the distance.

“You did not have to do that!” He complained as Loki hoisted him up from the wall.

“Oh, but I did. Come on.” 

He looked toward Inkeri one last time. Her smile was big enough to light up an entire planet. 

“Tell the Lady Inkeri goodnight.” He ordered. 

Thor looked up and grinned. 

“Goodnight!”

“Goodnight Thor.” She laughed. 

Loki nodded to her and turned to escort his brother away. 

_I wish to see you again._ She blurted out, using the mind-speak.

Loki’s hand froze on the curtain and he turned, eyeing her with surprise.

“Then it shall be so.” He smiled, and disappeared into the great hall. 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading. I hope I'm getting a nicer, softer Loki down right.


	4. It Seems

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Wherein we meet a normal kind of hero, and later on, Inkeri realizes something is slightly off about her old friend. Meanwhile, far away on Niflheim, Fandral learns how to command an army of rats with a flute.

Chapter 4

 

“Our cre'd hast at each moment been to upholdeth the hon'r and dignity of each and ev'ry one of our citizens. Teachest the young, protecteth the weak, and-no, no that’s not it!”

Kaapo Aaronson put a hand to his face. How many times had he heard this particular motto, his very own personal motto, all of his life? Why, he had even had to recite some of it to graduate to the next level in his studies at some point as a young child. 

“Why must this elude me?” He groaned, stabbing his sword into the soft compact dirt of the training grounds.

He had loved this place ever since he was a small boy. The sounds of clanking metal, the shouts of the other warriors as they improved their skills in the ring, their thoughts on the safety and protection of Asgard above all else. 

When he was too small for them to even consider letting him inside, he would come every day after his tutoring lessons and just watch, awestruck by them all. Volstagg was always his favorite, shouting and laughing, goading the others on. On rare occasions, he would take notice of the boy and at the end of the afternoon, he would hoist him up on his sweaty shoulders, carrying him this way and that while he would fight a mock battle with some other willing Einherjar. Kaapo loved every minute of it. 

As soon as he became of age, he enrolled in the Royal Defense Academy. He worked hard, so hard, and upon his graduation was deemed fit to serve his realm as an Einherjar warrior. And now, he had been among the very few to be selected for a task he never even dreamed would be possible for him-to be part of the Royal Guard. This was no easy task. The protection of the palace as well as the royal family would fall upon his shoulders. He would need to be trusted by the Commander of the Guard and the Allfather above all else. 

And he couldn’t even get the traditional acceptance speech right.

“Do not fret friend Kaapo. It is worse to prepare too much for these things than hardly at all.” Chuckled a voice from the side of the fighting ring.

Kaapo smiled and turned, shaking his head. 

“Thor! I admit, I am surprised to see you awake at this hour.” He walked to the edge of the ring and pulled the prince into a firm hug. 

“What do you take me for?”

“Someone who got very drunk last night, and was given a medicine by your very thoughtful brother this morning.”

“Ha! You know me all too well old friend. I actually came down here in search of you. I knew you would be the only one mad enough to be in the practice ring the morning after the first night of the festivals.”

Kaapo sighed and rubbed at his shoulder. 

“I admit, I am nervous for the upcoming ceremony. I am still without a clue as to why your father saw fit to choose me for this when there were so many others who qualified.”

Thor clasped his friend’s arm with a reassuring smile. 

“He and I both chose you, Kaapo. When I am king, you are one of the few I have always wanted at my side.”

“It means much to me to hear you say that Thor.” He paused, looking up to the sky for a moment.

“Do you think they would have been proud?” 

The prince too looked toward the sky, then back at Kaapo.

“They smile down on you from Valhalla as we speak. I know it to be true.”

Satisfied with his answer, Kaapo nodded to Thor’s weapon of choice, hanging by a leather strap on his waist belt.

“Well I can see you didn’t come down here just to chat.” He walked to his sword, pulling it from the ground in one swift motion. “Unless you were planning on fixing the fence post with that thing.”

Thor grinned, setting Mjolnir down, for she was far too temperamental to be used in friendly situations. Grabbing a practice sword, he stood ready. 

“Let us make sure I have not forgotten my skill with the sword, shall we?”

-

-

“Do you ever wonder how our people really came to be here?” 

Inkeri and Loki lay side by side in a soft patch of clean grass in the quiet safety of his mother’s garden, the sounds of merry singing and celebration echoed down from the great hall upon them.

Inkeri turned on her side, resting her head in her hands to wait for Loki’s answer. He had one hand under his head and the other in the air, tracing the constellations as he always had done on a clear night when they were children. 

“I suppose if I were to ask one in your profession, they would say we had evolved on some distant planet, developed the technology to travel to other realms, and discovered this place to cultivate and settle. They would tell me that all of the other worlds, Alfheim, Muspelheim, Jotunheim, came into existence through the colliding of giant space rocks and formation of galaxies and that life also evolved and adapted on them. If I were to ask a priest, he would tell me that Asgard appeared miraculously out of nowhere, and that a giant cow had licked out of the ice the first Aesir, my great grandfather Buri, who then brought all of our kind into existence through the power of the bones of the giant Ymir whom he slew in a terrible battle.”

“And which explanation do you prefer?” She inquired.

He stopped tracing to smile at her. 

“Perhaps a little bit of both.”

She laughed, reaching up to grab his hand and continue his outlining of the constellation Hvelgermir. 

“The Midgardians share our minds even in this way. Although their theories are many and differ very greatly.”

His fingers intertwined with hers as he brought their hands down to the grass. 

“You really are enamored with them aren’t you? A species so small and helpless.”

“They are not as small as you think. And not as weak. There are even some of them who have evolved to cultivate the abilities of telepathy, telekinesis, self healing, and many other things. They are referred to as ‘mutants’.”

Loki snickered at that, and began tracing small runes into the palm of her hand. 

“You mean to tell me that the very ones who should be lauded and praised among them, treated as gods, are called mutants? Tell me, how are such ones regarded by the others?”

“They are not as...accepted as I had hoped. Those of them that have chosen the path of evil are greatly feared, but the ones who have chosen to do right have done a great deal of goodness for their planet. They are young, still in their adolescence, but they will be as great as we are someday.”

She stilled his hand, closing her eyes, and placed her palm against his. 

“Can you see down to the essence of a soul, if you concentrate very hard?”

He smirked at her, resisting the urge to reach out and touch her hair. 

“As of now, it is not something that I have been able to master as thoroughly you have.” 

She lay there concentrating for quite some time. 

“I can see mine, and when I touch you, I can see yours.” Her brow furrowed, and she opened her eyes.

“What is it?” He whispered.

She stayed quiet for a moment. 

“It is nothing. What I had meant to say was that I could also see theirs, their DNA as they called it. It is barely different from our own.” 

“Then I shall have to trust your opinion on them. I am curious, what do they know of us?”

Inkeri sat up, tucking her legs under her. 

“We are very much shrouded in myth and legend now. In some lands, we have become the stuff of science fiction, their dramas painting us as little gray aliens who have lived for thousands of years by means of cloning.”

“How absurd! Was I in it?”

“Yes!” She laughed. “You would kidnap poor unsuspecting humans in their sleep from your spaceship in Earth’s orbit and conduct odd experiments on them, then return them when you were done.”

He sat up on one elbow, dramatically putting a hand to his chest and regarded her with a pained expression.

“Barbarians! What do they take me for?”

She rolled her eyes. “The God of Mischief, naturally. Which reminds me, it has always been your custom to perform one mischievous deed on every night of every special feasting occasion. Am I to assume that something has changed?”

“Of course not, my dear. Last night I am afraid that you were the first target, which I regrettably failed to impress, and this second night of feasting-”

He stood, pulling her up with him and wrapped an arm around her. He pulled her tight to his side, and her breath caught in her throat.

“Yes?” She whispered.

He grinned and turned his head upwards, pointing to the window of the castle spire that was situated nearest to them. 

“Do you see me there? My double?” 

“Yes! What are you doing?”

“I am...keeping my brother such good company that he wants for nothing or no one else.”

She laughed, noticing he had yet to let go of her.

“You mean you are frightening away all of the throngs of eligible ladies?”

“Yes.” 

“It will be a sad day when your brother is finally able to see through your illusions, my son.”

The two looked up to see the queen approach. 

“Although it is nice to see you so happy for once.”

Loki pulled away and took his mother’s hands, placing a kiss to her cheek. 

“Mother, you remember the Lady Inkeri do you not?” 

Inkeri placed a fist to her chest and bowed to the Allmother.

“Of course.” Frigga gently clasped Inkeri’s shoulders and looked into her eyes. Inkeri had always felt nervous under Frigga’s gaze. One never really knew what visions the queen was burdened with, for she would never fully disclose her predictions to anyone. 

“I must congratulate you on your promotion to Head Researcher. I can think of no one else more qualified for the position.” 

“Thank you my queen.” Inkeri swallowed. 

Whatever Frigga was searching for in her eyes, she must have found, because she turned to Loki and smiled at her younger son. 

“I apologize for interrupting your conversation, my dear. I had only wished to seek solace from the throngs, just as you have.”

“I should actually be going. It is getting late and I have much work to do in the morning.” Inkeri answered her before Loki could respond. 

The queen gracefully tipped her head to Inkeri. 

“Then, in that case, Loki, perhaps you should walk her to her home.”

“Of course, mother.”

Inkeri bowed one more time before Frigga. Upon standing, the queen took her hand and flashed her a knowing smile. 

“Your curiosity will serve you well, my child. Never hesitate to keep on exploring. You are welcome here any time.”

A sickening wave of anxiety rose to Inkeri’s throat, but she swallowed it down quickly enough to respond without missing a beat.

“Thank you, your highness. Goodnight.”

Loki only watched their exchange curiously before extending his arm to her. She took it, letting him lead her from the garden.

 _You need not be so afraid of my mother._

Inkeri looked up to his Cheshire grin and sighed.

 _She is perhaps the kindest woman I know. It is only her visions that frighten me._

“Visions and predictions are never certain, and can always change.Unless you have something to hide.” He responded aloud once they were out of earshot. 

“Hide something? From you? I would have an exceptionally difficult time doing that.” She smiled. 

“It is truly so.” He responded somberly as a copy of himself appeared next to them, another in front, and one to the rear. 

“For I am everywhere and nowhere all at once!” They all exclaimed in unison before disappearing. 

“A terrifying concept!” She laughed, shaking her head. “And are you still with Thor?”

“Oh yes. I have just led the table in a round of loud drinking songs.” 

“I should think that he would enjoy that.” 

Loki grinned, glancing upwards towards the moons as they strode together, a jaunt in his step. 

“He would, but every lady besides Sif that has tried to join us so far, I have very skillfully convinced into visiting Hogun at the next table.” 

Inkeri stopped them both in the middle of the path.

“And what is Hogun doing? How has anyone not laid hands on you yet and realized your farce?”

He let go of her arm, reaching down to take her hands in his. Her eyes shone with glee, and he couldn’t help but think how it had been a very long time since someone had gazed upon him with such admiration. 

“He is as pleased as pie, although he would never say so. And as for your second question, I have been very, very careful.”

She bit her lip for a moment as if contemplating whether or not to speak. 

“May I see?” She finally requested.

He chuckled, pulling her over to the side of the nearest home. The night was early, and not a soul would see them, as most of the revelers tended to not return until dawn.

“Alright.” He responded. “But I must connect more deeply with you.”

She nodded in acquiescence and he softly placed both hands to each side of her head, shutting his eyes. 

“Clear your mind, and place your hands upon mine.” He commanded. 

She closed her eyes, and did as he asked, trying her hardest to relax and calm her thoughts. 

In a flash of nearly blinding color and light, he linked his mind to hers, pulling her from the quiet night into the grand hall where she saw through his clone’s eyes. 

_You are truly rotten._ She giggled as she observed all of his goings on. 

He opened his eyes to watch her, pleased with the occasional snicker she would let out as she took a front row seat to his tomfoolery. 

Absent-mindedly, she began to caress his fingers with her own and he swallowed, suddenly feeling very aware of every sensation she was feeling as well-the cool breeze of the night, his hands on her face, the subtle nervous excitement that rose from her belly. His concentration faltered for a split second as he looked to her soft lips-

“Loki! Look out!” She broke the connection just as Volstagg reached forward to clap his illusion on the shoulder, dissolving it into nothing. 

The following bellowing of his name by Thor was later said to be heard throughout the castle grounds and even as far as the stables.

Loki stood there, dumbfounded, her hands still upon his own. 

“Oh Loki, I am sorry. I should not have asked to see. I’ve ruined the whole thing.” Inkeri frowned.

To his dismay, she dropped her hands and looked away from him embarrassed, and he pulled away quickly, the moment being lost. 

“It is alright.” He consoled her, finding that he was desperate to make her smile again.

“For all of the trouble I caused Thor tonight, it was worth being caught in tenfold just to see you laugh.” He admitted with a grin putting a finger under her chin and tilting her head up to look at him. 

“Are you sure?” She peered up at him nervously.

“Of course I am sure. It was my fault to lose concentration. Now, enough of this. Shall we continue?” He pulled back, holding his arm to her. 

She took it, smirking up at him. 

“We shall.” 

They walked in comfortable silence as she directed them to the home of her parents. 

As they approached the door to the darkened dwelling, she turned to face him. 

“Thank you for accompanying me.”

He took her hand and kissed it, and she stared boldly into his eyes, grinning as if she knew some secret that he did not. 

“Good night,” She whispered, and turned to open the door.

Instead of letting go of her hand, he squeezed tighter, pulling her back for a moment.

She looked back at him inquisitively.

“I wish for you to dine with me. Of course, once you have gotten settled. Perhaps in a few weeks time.” Loki blurted out. 

“I would love nothing more than to see you again.” She answered truthfully.

He nodded, secretly relieved at her answer and let go of her hand.

"Until then, Lady Inkeri." 

"Until then." She repeated after him. 

To her surprise, he took a step back and vanished in a flash of green, leaving her standing completely alone.

She laughed, shaking her head. 

"Showoff." She mumbled to the air where he had been standing only a second ago.

Finally, she turned and opened the door, disappearing inside.

_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry again for the horrible lack of editing and good grammar. I don't know why, but rewriting this chapter from its original was such a huge pain! it just wasn't happening. Hopefully it all flows well.


	5. I See Stars

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Inkeri says nerdy science words, Frigga LOL's, and Hogun discovers a bow and arrow that can shoot dragons.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am such a science geek. Please forgive my jargon if you're not a dork like me.

Chapter 5

 

It is a very strange feeling, when you think you know something to be true for your entire life, and suddenly learn that it isn’t. But some things are understandable. Of course Bellos of the Bold Eye would not come to eat small children in their sleep as they were told if they were naughty. Urd, Skuld, and Verdandi weren’t the keepers of some great tapestry who would weave and cut your life’s string as they wished. For Earthing children, the knowledge that characters like Santa Claus and the tooth fairy are not real can be upsetting, but eventually it can be come to terms with. 

However, there are things that one finds out in their life that bend the mind in ways they never even dreamed of. 

It had been a few weeks, since the second night of feasting in the garden. Sixteen days, to be exact. 

Inkeri had discovered the truth on the fourth day. 

She had always assumed that her ability for healing was a gift. It was not so rare of a thing for an Aesir to self heal, as most were hearty and lived extremely long lives. But to heal others was a talent not to be taken for granted. Eir, the Head Healer to the royal family had learned of Inkeri’s gifts. She had even wanted her to train as an apprentice to eventually become a master someday and perhaps assume her role. 

But science had always been Inkeri’s first love. The places she could go, things she could do and learn and invent made doctoring pale in comparison, as interesting as it was. 

Inkeri had always been told by her parents that she was special, a miracle child, for they were able to have no other children even by means of the advanced science of their world. When she was only a few hundred years old, she discovered quite accidentally that she was able to see with her mind down to the protons of things. In doing so, she had unconsciously tampered with the anthocyanins and carotenoids of a dahlia that was sat on her mother’s windowsill, changing it from purple to orange. It was an easy thing, no doubt, for an apprentice still learning their seidr, but for a child this was a little more rare. 

Ever since then, she would always gaze into the inner workings of an animal, or a plant, sometimes healing them if necessary, and always curious how they were made. It was rare for her to invade another Asgardian in that way, however, and in the garden, with Loki, she had not meant anything by it. She had only meant to prove the point that the human and Aesir body construction was not so different, that the molecules that made up their life force were nearly identical. So when she touched his hand and looked at his essence, she saw Aesir DNA, on the surface, and it was perfect. A gleaming, beautiful, perfect double helix, and it was so wrong. 

There had always been very minor imperfections in the most healthy of humanoids of course, and that was what was worrisome. His essence was flawless. So, naturally, she dug deeper, moved past the illusion and almost missed it. His nucleotides were composed of a six carbon sugar, instead of five like the other Aesir, elves, and even humans. It couldn’t have been right. There were other inconsistencies as well-a fifth nitrogenous base, as well as his very cell structure being completely off from any other she had ever studied. Even more odd still was that the whole thing appeared to be completely normal...as if he was something else under a spell to pass off as Asgardian. 

And his reaction to her nervous pause told her that he had no idea.

She had scoured the databanks with little to no success for three entire days, every night so as not to arouse suspicion. Every species of alien that they had such detailed information on had not fit what she saw. The dark elves were long extinct, although it was highly possible that some of them could have slipped under the radar. But he was much too tall to be a dark elf or a light elf for that matter. Unless he happened to belong to one of the races that resided outside of the branches of Ydrassil, this left the Vanir-whom she had already ruled out, the dwarves, the fire demons, and the Jotnar. 

Of course, of the three there was only one probable conclusion. 

And now she sat at her very beautiful mahogany desk in the Ministry of Science reliving the moment over and over again. The panic that rose in her chest, remembering how cold he always felt. Had she not always asked him as a child why he would not wear furs like everyone else during the winter? His freezing hands when she held them in the garden, and again on her face when they linked minds later that night. 

She had stood, quickly swiping through the holograms until she reached her intended target. 

And there it was. Jotun DNA. Right there. In plain sight in the medical database. Six carbon sugar nucleotides, five nitrogenous bases, the entire lot of it.  
Her eyes had widened and she had sat back down in her chair with a thud, shaking hands covering her mouth.

_Dritt._

Of course she had backtracked out of every program she was in, taking special care to cover her trail. But gods only knew what Heimdall had seen. 

She sighed, picking up a stylus tool and began to continue a three dimensional blueprint she was designing, her mind only half on the work.

How could he not know? His parents, maybe even some of the healers, they must have all known save for him. And now her. If it ever became known to the Allfather that she was harboring a secret of this magnitude, she knew not what would become of her. 

A soft knocking sounded at her door and she looked up, startled out of her dangerous thoughts.

“Enter.” She called out, half expecting it to be Snorri. The ancient white haired man that was her new colleague had not ceased to leave her alone for the past two weeks, first insisting on helping her setup her office, then burying her with an endless barrage of questions on what she would be doing first, and how the Allfather would need to see their progress on new things quarterly, so to have something good for him, and this and that. He was sweet, but maddening. 

“Ahem, are you the lady Inkeri?”

Inkeri looked up to see a rather sheepish looking six foot two blonde Einherjar guard bearing the crest of the royal family on his chestplate emblems.  
She stood quickly, shutting off her holo device.

“My apologies, I thought you were someone else, do come in.” She gestured.

The young man carefully made his way inside, taking great care not to knock anything off of her shelves. He eyed the replication table in the middle of her room. 

“If you’re here to retrieve my reports for the Allfather, I am sorry but I have not been here long enough to contribute anything of great worth.” 

She followed his eyes to the little gun that rested on the table.

“Well besides that. Although I’m not sure he would take too kindly to my suggestions of other weaponry besides swords and staffs.”

The soldier broke his gaze and laughed richly, to her shock reaching out to shake her hand. 

“Apologies, my lady, I have forgotten to introduce myself. I am Kaapo, newest member of the royal guard. And I have oddly been thinking to myself recently that if we were ever found to be in a battle with a gun bearing species, such as the Svartalfar once were, we may possibly be at a great disadvantage.”

“Well I am pleased I’m not the only one.” Inkeri smiled, put at ease by his casual manner. 

“Alas, I am not here to collect your weaponry. I have been sent by the prince himself.”

He pulled a small piece of parchment from his breast pocket that bore a green serpentine symbol. But Inkeri didn’t have to see it to know exactly who it was from. 

She took the paper from him, panic collecting in her belly once more.

“Thank you Kaapo.” She whispered distractedly.

He thankfully seemed not to notice her fright, for he continued to speak. 

“May I?” He gestured to the little table. 

“Of course.” She nodded, and he went to go play with the energy weapon while she opened the letter.

She already knew that Loki was inviting her to dinner. She had been dreading this. 

Distractedly, she heard Kaapo mentioning something about the gun while she scanned over the elegantly scrawled out contents.

He wanted her to dine with him tomorrow night. 

She nearly snickered. He was so formal in his request, it was almost romantic. She swallowed, remembering suddenly something she had almost forgotten in the midst of the Jotun drama. He had wanted to kiss her during their mind link when he showed her his prank with Thor. That was the reason he had become distracted. 

Not that she would have minded. 

She had always found him incredibly handsome, even when they were children, before he grew into his nose and his feet were just a little too big. But he was a prince, and her friend.

And now things had grown very complicated. 

A sudden blast from the corner of the room made her jump and she threw the letter out of her hands, looking up just in time to see Kaapo holding the energy gun with wide eyes, mouth open, and looking toward the huge hole now in her closet door. 

“I do believe I’ve found the trigger.” 

Inkeri began to laugh, the entire situation refreshingly funny to her after the past two weeks of mental turmoil. 

Kaapo gently and slowly set the gun back down onto the replication table, patting it for good measure and turned to her.

“I am truly very sorry.” 

Inkeri bent over holding onto her stomach as she continued to laugh. 

“It’s alright. The look on your face was well worth the hole in my door. I’m just glad you weren’t pointing it at me.”

He finally began to laugh as well. “I should be going my lady. Shall I give the prince your answer?”

Inkeri shut off all of her devices, and picked up her cloak. It was obvious she would not be getting any more work done today. 

“Yes, tell him I will be delighted to attend.”

Kaapo smiled excitedly and bowed politely before her so as to excuse himself.

“He will be happy to hear it.” 

He paused at the doorway and turned. 

“By the way, do you have a name for it, your weapon?” 

She smiled, joining him and closing the door.

“Not yet, though you are more than welcome to return and test it before i present it.”

“I was hoping you would say that.” He chuckled as they walked through the hallway, exiting the building. 

“Goodbye Lady Inkeri. And, try not to break his heart too badly.” He winked and trotted off, making her blush.

“If only you knew.” She whispered at his retreating form, and gathered her cloak around her tighter. 

The air seemed to had take on a sudden chill as she followed the path that led around the side of the castle to her home. 

She stopped abruptly as she had a sudden realization. When she saw Loki again, he could link minds with her and find out. He would see everything. She would have to work hard to ensure that he wouldn’t.

“Inkeri.”

She heard a voice call her name from in front of her and looked up. Eyes widening, she curtseyed and bowed her head.

“Queen Frigga,” She whispered, almost sure that her inner panic had become visible.

Frigga approached her and eyed her thoughtfully for a moment. Inkeri noticed that she was strangely alone, lacking of any handmaidens at her side. 

“Walk with me child.” She commanded softly.

Inkeri looked up and nodded her compliance, as if she had any other choice, walking beside her as they crossed through the gates to the palace garden. 

They walked for what felt like forever into a part of the queen’s own private garden that Inkeri had never seen until now. The whole area was surrounded by hedges, filled with flowers, some of which she had never even seen before. 

Frigga sat down on a small bench and signaled for Inkeri to do the same. After the young woman had sat down next to her, she finally spoke. 

“My son is very taken with you.” She smiled. 

Inkeri gulped audibly. Frigga was a seer, meaning she could predict many possible future outcomes of any given situation. “Yes, he has always favored me. I suppose as children I was a fitting companion, aiding and abetting his mischief. He has been a good friend to me, as I hope I have been to him.”

Frigga studied her quietly.

“You are good for him, you know. You must realize something, however. I love Loki more than life itself, but know this- he has many dark sides. Some of them he does not even know about.” Her soft blue eyes pierced Inkeri’s for a moment and she continued. “I have seen many paths. What they are, I will not say, but he will only succeed if he feels as if he is loved and...accepted, no matter what.” She finished cryptically.

Inkeri nodded slowly, understanding her words. So it very well could destroy him if he found out. 

Her mind raced. She had so many questions, the first of them being why, why would you do this? How could this happen?

Frigga smiled sadly, and Inkeri wondered breifly if she also had the ability to mind-speak.

“I am sorry dear, I know you have many questions, but it is dangerous to speak of certain things in the open.”

As the words came out of her mouth, she turned her head to the gray sky, both of them seeing two black ravens fly over the expanse of the garden. Odin’s ravens.

“You will learn all of the answers in time. All I can tell you is that his family truly loves him. No matter what he may think in the end. But please, promise me this, keep an open mind. You will learn other things that may disturb you about Loki,” Inkeri picked up her stress on the word “other”, “as he is still very young, and sometimes lets his emotions get the better of him, but he is good at heart, I promise you that.”

Inkeri nodded and looked down at her hands.

“I promise to try to never judge him, and I would never hold him accountable for things that are out of his control.” She them thought for a moment, steeling her self up and boldly looked into the eyes of her queen with a fierce determination. “But I also know that Loki is mischievous, and I have seen firsthand in the past that sometimes his jests can become cruel. Your highness, I am sorry to say, if he ever behaves harmfully to himself or others on purpose, he will hear the truth from me, whether he wants to or not.”

Frigga laughed out loud, placing her hands over the tops of Inkeri’s.

“I know my dear. That, I am counting on.”

-

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope someone got my Overwatch reference in the chapter summary. 
> 
> Poor Inkeri. It sucks when you're just going about your business, trying to have an innocent flirty relationship with a sexy black haired man prince, and then you find out that he's like, you know...a frost giant. 
> 
> Hate it when that happens.
> 
> Also, I just watched Thor The Dark World and they have a ton of holo technology! Even part of their library is holograms and like when Fandral is talking to Odin about their plans for the dark elves, it's drawn up on a 3D hologram. So cool! I think a lot of people skip over that and make them sound more primitive than they really are which is interesting.


	6. Fake It

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which we find out that Inkeri is definitely not perfect, Loki is sexy as usual, and Frigga tells Odin that forgetting their anniversary is not an acceptable reason to go into the Odinsleep.
> 
> Also, I hate HTML.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for all of your Kudos, I'm really not sure if any of this is any good, and Good Loki is extremely hard to write, as he barely exists in the MCU. Actually he's just tough to write no matter how you do it. 
> 
> Haha. Thanks for reading.

Chapter 6

 

Distraction was the key to the next night’s dinner plans. 

 

There was probably some better solution, but none were really coming to mind. 

 

Inkeri took one last furtive glance into her mirror. She had opted for an emerald green floor length gown with loose fitting cap sleeves that lay around her shoulders, and fitted with a bronze metallic bodice that cinched her in at the waist. The only jewelry she wore was a golden arm cuff wound around her bicep in the shape of a serpent with sparkling peridot eyes.  
Her short hair was done straight, tucked elegantly behind her ears. She had lined her eyes in a deep chocolate smokey kohl, and her lips she had painted in a warm mocha color. 

It was dramatic, presumptuous, and complete overkill. Right up Loki’s alley.

Of course, she still had no idea how she was going to walk into the room without saying something like, “Hello. Thank you for dinner, your highness. Read any good books lately? Any idea that you’re a Jotun? I’ll have the salad.”

Inkeri sighed and rubbed her temples. It was going to be a long night. 

Bidding goodbye to her parents, she left the house, deciding to walk to his little section of the palace, as it was close enough to her own home and it would give her time to clear her head sufficiently. If he did decide to mind-speak with her again, she would have to be very careful not to betray any of her emotions. She took a deep breath to calm her nerves. All would be well. She just had to believe it would be.

Arriving at her entrance to the palace, she nodded to the guards on duty, one of them being the young man she had met the day prior. 

“Sir Kaapo! They have you doing all kinds of things don’t they?”

He smiled and stepped out of his position to bow rather exaggeratedly.

“Well, well, lady Inkeri. I must say that you do not look so much like a scientist anymore. I congratulate you.”

“I’ll take that as a compliment.” She laughed as he came up from his bow and extended his arm. 

“I am to escort you to the prince’s dining room.” He said, his voice and mannerisms turning very serious. 

Inkeri put on the same face and took his arm, letting him lead her into the palace and through this hallway and that.

“So tell me,” she prodded, “how is it that the royalty has you doing all of their grunt work around here? Passing letters, escorting people. Do you shine their shoes as well?”

“Ha! They could only dream. No I’m afraid that because I am newly sworn into this position, and I have known both of the princes very well since we were children, I get the menial, love letter delivery type tasks, and other things of that nature.”

She rolled her eyes at him. 

“It was not a love letter.”

He smirked, turning them left down another long hall. 

“Tell me with a straight face that Loki had not written ‘Do you like me? Circle yes or no, and please also come to dinner tomorrow night.’ And then I will believe you.”

Immediately she laughed, shaking her head. “I am afraid that I cannot say it with a straight face!”

“I knew it!” He chuckled.

They rounded a corner, and stopped at a magnificent golden door, and Inkeri’s heart leapt up into her chest. She was not ready for this. 

“Here is our stop, my lady.” 

Kaapo let go of her arm with a twinkle in his eye and bowed once more.

“Thank you. It was nice to see you again, truly.” She managed to get out, growing more and more nervous by the second. 

He nodded and left her there, and she stood waiting until he was out of sight. 

The longer she stood there, the more she was going to panic. She knew that, logically, of course. But physically, her hand seemed to be unable to reach up and knock. Huffing out a sigh, she stopped her worrying. This was ridiculous. She had known this man most of her life. They had played together, feasted together, misbehaved together. Nothing was different. 

She lifted her hand to knock, the panic rising yet again.

Except for things were completely different now, weren't they? The way he looked at her and spoke with her, the feeling of a million goosebumps just from one simple touch...wondering about whether or not his real eyes were the color of a deep spurting blood wound or were perhaps more of an orange red. Those kinds of things. 

As her knuckles hit the wood, the door came open with an incredibly starting whoosh, and she jumped back, coming face to face with a small stocky manservant. He regarded her rather irritably with his beady eyes.

“Well wha’ are you doin’ standin’ out there? Come in, come in you silly girl.”

She gulped and swallowed, rushing past him as he stepped aside for her. 

Inkeri stopped for a moment to take in her surroundings. The room wasn’t quite as big as she’d previously thought. It was quite cozy, actually, with a dining table for six in the far right and directly in front of her a glorious balcony with a stunning view of the city. To her left, there was an entire wall of bookshelves, accented by, of course, a deep jade velvety looking couch. 

She looked back to the balcony and saw Loki there, his back to her. She noticed he was dressed much more casual than she had seen during the previous days of feasting, wearing a simple dark green tunic and black trousers. 

She cleared her throat. 

“I think I’ve come a bit overdressed.” She joked, wringing her hands behind her back nervously.

He startled for a split second and turned, obviously having been lost in thought.

Loki’s eyes widened, and he just stood there quietly, taking her in, seemingly from foot to face, the intensity of his gaze making Inkeri feel as if she wanted to fly apart and come back together all at the same time.

His eyes softened when they met hers, and he grinned, approaching to take her hand.

“You look exquisite.” He kissed her cheek then, bringing her into a friendly hug.

She was completely and utterly lost.

“Thank you.” Was her inadequate response.

“Shall we?” He motioned to the table and they sat, he at the end seat and she on the corner right next to him. Loki then angled his chair so that they could converse more easily.

“So, are you settling in alright?”

Inkeri watched as one of the kitchen staff set down a steaming bowl of creamy mushroom soup in front of her. So he had not forgotten her favorite meal. 

She took a small bite and smiled up at him appreciatively. 

“Things are going well, although I do have to admit that it is different from what I am accustomed to. I had gotten so used to traveling, blending in and not using any sort of magicks, that being gifted with our more advanced tools and resources has been a stark change.”

He nodded. “But you are happy to settle down for a while?”

“I suppose. For a while. Although just between you and I, I have left a friend on Midgard who probably thinks I am dead, as I obviously have not been able to contact her.”

Loki sat back with a smug smile. “Well, well. Breaking the, what was it? Fifth rule of contact with lesser beings?”

“Sixth, actually. And those rules are only in place because you and your brother-”

He put up a hand to stop her. “Yes, yes I know. And you know that the equine incident was simply a jest that they were not ready for. So does your little mortal know that she has befriended a goddess?”

Inkeri shook her head. “I am no goddess, Loki. And no, of course not. She sees me as a regular young girl who appreciates the pleasure of her company.”

She leaned forward, her eyes dancing with mirth. “You should meet her someday. I’d love to see what she would think of you. Although you are so devastatingly handsome I fear she may fall prey to your charms and-” She stopped, realizing what she had said and also was about to say and cleared her throat. 

Loki, who now looked as if he had swallowed the joy of a thousand worlds and was beaming from ear to ear sat forward, his feline eyes boring a hole into her soul. 

“And?” He intoned, the rumbling baritone of his voice causing her to want to jump up from her seat. 

Inkeri, feeling altogether too warm all of the sudden, sat back. “And, nothing.” She concluded.

He reached for her hand, which was resting on the table and interlaced their fingers.

_If you do not wish to tell me aloud, you may think it to me, darling._

Inkeri grimaced. Could this be going any less smoothly? 

She gently caressed his hand and licked her lips. Clear your mind and distract him, she thought. 

_And steal you away from me. Now get out of my head you cad._

As he had always told her, sometimes the truth could be the best sort of lie. 

A wicked laugh bubbled forth from him, and he sat back, seemingly satisfied. “See, my dear, that was not so hard, was it?”

__Inkeri rolled her eyes, looking away from him. She was safe, for now._ _

__“As I said the other night, you are incorrigible. May we please talk about something else?”_ _

__“Of course, however it was not I who brought up your intense longing and attraction for me. Not that I object to hearing it. You may shower me with praise and affection any time you like.” He grinned at her._ _

__Inkeri opened her mouth and then closed it, causing his grin to become ever wider. Loki’s eyes traveled down to his hand, which she realized, with great embarrassment that she was still casually stroking, and she pulled her hand quickly away, settling it in her lap._ _

__“Now it is you who mock me.” She laughed, looking away from him._ _

__His expression grew very serious, and he reached out, tilting her chin upwards to look into her eyes._ _

__“Anyone who would presume to mock the most bewitching creature to be encountered in all the Nine would surely be an imbecile.”_ _

__Inkeri gulped._ _

__“Then I retract my previous statement, for I know you to be no fool.” She stammered, her voice barely audible. This was going from bad to worse._ _

__She looked down at her soup, which had grown cold, and touched her hand to the bowl, quickly reheating it._ _

__Loki watched her curiously and she inclined her head to him._ _

__“Shall I heat yours as well? It is no trouble.”_ _

__He nodded and she reached over to his bowl to do the same while thinking frantically of anything and everything she could say to change the subject._ _

__“Loki, I am curious if I may ask you a rather personal question involving your seidr. One that I have never brought up to anyone before.”_ _

__He tasted his soup, satisfied with the result._ _

__“Of course. I hold no secrets from you regarding my magick. Or anything else for that matter.” He confessed, making her feel even worse for wear._ _

__“Well, it is a rather simplistic question, yet complex all at once. Where exactly do you draw your power from?”_ _

__He furrowed his brow. “I draw it from the light, of course.”_ _

__“And if you were to be technical about your explanation?” She pushed._ _

__“Well, if I were to be technical, I suppose I would say I draw it from the solar energy of the sun of whatever planet I reside upon. Just as all creatures I have ever met with our abilities do.”_ _

__“Yet some can draw from the darkness as well? Dark energy from quantum singularities and other anomalies?” She questioned._ _

__Loki cleared his throat, suddenly appearing as if he was slightly bored with her question. “Yes, I suppose so. Which is ill advised as it can push an entity into madness.”_ _

__Inkeri smiled knowingly at him. “I did not ask if you had ever done it. Believe me, even I have tried.”_ _

__He narrowed his eyes at her. “What exactly are you getting at?”_ _

__“Well, I have never confessed this to another. Only my family and a few others know. But I am not able to draw energy from either of those sources.”_ _

__Loki sat back in his dining chair aghast. “Then how are you doing it?”_ _

__Inkeri smiled and held her hand out, producing a small orange light orb, much like the one she had made to illuminate her path to the Bifrost cave several weeks ago in Norway._ _

__“I draw energy from inside of myself. I have never met another who could, nor have any of our healers, scientists, or sorcerers been able to tell me why or how. All I know is that it is like a presence that runs through my blood, my veins. Something that is simultaneously a part of me yet different from me all at once. It has been this way ever since I was born.”_ _

__He gaped at her, fascinated. “And this energy you draw upon, is it everlasting?”_ _

__She closed her hand, dissolving the orb, and shook her head. “The answer you seek to that question is a complicated one. My energy never leaves me, however it can deplete over time if I am not careful. If I use it too extensively to heal others, to fight for long periods, or even travel too far in the space between realms, I grow weak and become exhausted. Which is a reason why I have made it a practice to never teleport unless I am in danger.”_ _

__Loki contemplated her words for a moment. “And if your energy depletes too far? Then what?”_ _

__Inkeri shook her head. “I have never tested it beyond what I could physically bear. However, as the symbiosis between myself and my energy is so great, I have theorized that if ever put in the wrong situation, I could possibly die. Although it would be extremely difficult to come to those circumstances.”_ _

__He studied her thoughtfully. “Why have you never told me?”_ _

__“It was frightening for a long time, knowing that I was different, feeling as if I was at a disadvantage.” She shrugged. “It took many centuries for me to feel at one with myself. I did not wish to talk about it with anyone.”_ _

__“And yet you talk about it now? Why?”_ _

__At that moment, a servant came out to take their bowls away, another filling the wine and she smiled at him._ _

_Because I have grown weary of keeping it a secret. And because I trust you._

___His grin returned and his words cut through her very being like the blade of a jagged edged sword._ _ _

_And I you._

____She frowned, and they sat in silence until the dishes were replaced with a main course._ _ _ _

____“You do not like the food?” He questioned, and she realized that she must have been making a rather unpleasant face._ _ _ _

____“No, no. It is not that.” She responded quietly. “I was just thinking how I was not very hungry anymore.”_ _ _ _

____Loki stood, holding his hand to her. “Then come and watch the sunset with me, on the balcony. We can return here later.”_ _ _ _

____Inkeri smiled weakly and took his hand, letting him lead her out to a small sitting area. He sat down rather abruptly on a plush tufted settee, pulling her down with him and putting his feet up on a little table in front of them._ _ _ _

____She laughed and tucked her feet under her, resting her head on his shoulder, and looked out upon the gleaming city with him._ _ _ _

____“There is nothing that compares to this is there?” She smiled._ _ _ _

____“Not a thing I have ever seen in all my years is as beautiful as the sight that graces my vision at this very moment.” He answered, and when she looked up at him, she realized he was looking at her._ _ _ _

____Inkeri was not stupid. She knew that if she did not say something, anything, that he would kiss her._ _ _ _

____And she desperately wanted him to._ _ _ _

____She would have let him, if things had been different. If she had not dug herself down so deep into a hole that she knew not how to climb out of._ _ _ _

____“I-” Ripping herself from his side, she sat upright, attempting to calm the war raging inside of her._ _ _ _

____“Tell me a story, Loki. Like when we were children.”_ _ _ _

____He frowned at her rejection, and it nearly killed her. But he was a gentleman, always, and therefore complied with her request._ _ _ _

____“What would you like to hear?”_ _ _ _

____She smiled, leaning back into the seat, trying to think of the least romantic story he could possibly recount. “Tell me the tale of the Midgardian Serpent. But from your point of view, not Thor’s. He always over embellishes in his favor.”_ _ _ _

____Loki’s face brightened. “Alright, if you insist.”_ _ _ _

____Inkeri closed her eyes and listened, his soothing voice nearly drowning out her worries as he painted a tale that was very different to the version she had read on earth._ _ _ _

____By the time he was finished, the sky had grown fully dark, and Inkeri’s eyes were heavy. She had not really had an adequate rest for days._ _ _ _

____“Have I put you to sleep?”_ _ _ _

____She opened her eyes and realized that Loki had been silent for quite some time._ _ _ _

____Stifling a yawn, she sat up. “No, never! I could listen to you talk for hours. I have been spending long days in my work, I am afraid, and have not had much time for sleep.”_ _ _ _

____He nodded, and stood, helping her up. “Then perhaps we should end our night here?”_ _ _ _

____She attempted to gauge his expression, but all she could find was a wall of calm coolness._ _ _ _

____“I do not wish to, however, I should probably be going.” She sighed, despairing and hoping at the same time that she had pushed him away enough that this would be the last time he would seek her out._ _ _ _

____“Of course, I understand.” He responded gracefully, as if he didn’t care in the least._ _ _ _

____Inkeri knew he did, very much._ _ _ _

____And so, unbidden, she wrapped her arms around him, drawing him into a warm hug, and attempted desperately not to melt completely into him when after a moment of shock, he reciprocated her affections._ _ _ _

____She pulled away unwillingly, unable to hide her sad smile._ _ _ _

____“Goodnight Loki. Thank you for dinner, it was wonderful.”_ _ _ _

____His response was a skeptical stare, and she knew she had to leave. Immediately._ _ _ _

____She had almost made her way to the door, when he appeared in front of her in a puff of green, startling her like he loved to do._ _ _ _

____She stopped, unsure of his motives._ _ _ _

____“My brother is having a small gathering in a few week’s time to celebrate his upcoming coronation. I wish you bring you around, as my guest. Say that you’ll come with me.”_ _ _ _

____Inkeri swallowed. She could refuse, of course. This was Asgard, not medieval Earth. She could deny her prince without fear of repercussion._ _ _ _

____Except as she stared into his eyes, transfixed by his gaze, she knew she didn’t have it in her._ _ _ _

____“Of course I will.” She exhaled, not realizing she had been holding her breath._ _ _ _

____Loki smiled, opening the door for her. “Well then I shall inform you later of the date and the time. Goodnight Inkeri.”_ _ _ _

____“Goodnight.” She found herself leaning up to kiss his cheek before she could stop, and then sped through the door, out into the hall, attempting to retrace her journey with Kaapo which even though had only happened a few hours earlier, felt like a lifetime ago._ _ _ _

____Later on that night, as Inkeri lay in bed, fighting insomnia for what felt like the tenth night in a row, she thought upon her conversation with Frigga in the garden, and wondered if the queen could see her now, and if she thought any of this was remotely funny at all._ _ _ _

______ _ _ _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I guess maybe I should explain the chapter titles sometimes. 
> 
> Most of them are taken from songs that inspire my writing, because yes, I am one of those kinds of writers. 
> 
> This one is from a song of the same title on Bastille's new album. (hipsteralert!)
> 
> Go listen to it. It's good. 
> 
> Also, don't forget that I like comments! Comments are good! Tell me if the story sucks, I can handle it!


	7. Trapped

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Kaapo is a little snipe, Inkeri pulls out her inner badass, and Thor claps like one of those little monkeys with the cymbals.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey look I'm not dead! I don't know what happened but my mind did not want to write this chapter for like a month. It probably doesn't help that I've been taking programming classes, so what little there is of the romance feelings center of my brain got stuffed back down to where it came from. Yay logic!
> 
> Anyway, hope you enjoy.

Chapter 7

The training grounds rang out with a sharp thwack as a slim metal disk was launched into the air, spinning gold and flashing bright.

Less than two seconds later, it shattered into a million pieces with a sparked explosion as onlookers watched skeptically.

“Ha! Would you look at that?” Kaapo had the audacity to twirl the blaster by the trigger hole like Inkeri could have sworn she had seen in some old Earth movie, though she knew not where he would’ve learned that.

He handed the weapon to her, beaming. “Find me a more difficult target, scientist.”

Inkeri smiled and looked around them. “I would have trouble complying with your request, as we have already eviscerated several dummies, and rigged the disk machine to fire farther than possible. We would have to use a real person to complete testing.”

“Hm. It is doubtful we could get anyone to play in that manner. I do not think a hole in the leg would be worth your experiments.”

Inkeri looked up at Kaapo in challenge. “Give me some armor.”

“I will not! I know who your father is, and I do not feel like losing my newly and very hard earned position to sit in the stocks, my lady.”

Inkeri rolled her eyes. “I will program it to a stun setting. Just procure a set of armor and a small sword and shield. Nothing heavy. I will give you the test you desire.”

Kaapo hesitated for a moment, but she had already set to reprogramming the blaster. “Fine. I must steal some from Sif. If she questions me, I will send her to you.”

Inkeri nodded, engrossed in her work. He returned shortly, depositing all she had asked for at her feet. She returned the gun to him and picked up the armor, dissolving her typical long dress into a more comfortable brown sleeveless tunic which hung loosely over the top of simple black leather leggings and boots. Quickly, she began to put on the armor as Kaapo eyed her nervously. At this point, a small crowd had begun to form around them.

“Do you even know how to fight, _lillesøster_?”

Inkeri snickered, clapping the last arm brace on, and picked up the sword and shield. The shield was the standard grade, used for Einherjar training practices, but the sword, the sword was different. The blade was long and sharp, yet incredibly thin, the top portion decorated with a long scroll of Celtic knots. The pommel, hilt, and guard were made of the highest quality gold she had ever seen.

“Where did you get this?” She turned the gleaming blade over in her hand.

“Just the armory.” He smiled. “Are you ready?”

“One last thing. I promised a challenge.” She put her hand to the shield and a glow transferred to it. “You had better grab a sword as well.”

Kaapo nodded and placed the gun in a special holster on his belt, and procured a training sword from one of the now many Einherjar that were standing around the sides of the training area.

Inkeri stepped back quite a few paces and twirled the sword around in her hand, much to Kaapo’s surprise, and took a defensive stance.

“Ready?” She called.

Kaapo’s left hand twitched in anticipation as it hovered over the gun. His nod was almost imperceptible.

“Fight!”

Kaapo’s reaction was nearly instantaneous as he drew the gun, his firing straight and true. Three bolts flew towards Inkeri. Two aimed to her right arm, and one cleverly for her left leg. But she was already gone, ducking and rolling out of the way, hopping back up on her feet and advancing slowly on him.

“Is that all you’ve got, Royal Guard?” She taunted, raising the sword up to her side.

“I had meant to go easy on you.” Kaapo called back, firing five more shots in her direction, which she easily dodged.

The crowd was going wild at this point, shouting and whistling as Kaapo shot and Inkeri bobbed and weaved.

“How are you doing this?” He yelled, beginning to lose his calm as she came forward, sword drawn in his direction. She laughed, and reached up with her imbued shield and hit one of the blasts, refracting it back at him. To his shock, the energy hit him in the shoulder, knocking him back on his rear and numbing nearly his entire arm.

“Damn!” He cursed as the crowd yelled. As he got up, however, he saw something that would most definitely turn his luck around. Turning back to her, he managed to slice at her with the training sword a few times, maneuvering them into the exact position he wanted.

“You know, it surprises me that you are doing so well.” Two shots.

“Ha! Because I am a woman?”

She dodged and came at him, nearly upon him with the sword. Kaapo smiled smugly and aimed the gun to her right leg as he answered in a voice only she could hear. “No, because your intended watches you from the Allfather’s balcony.”

In a knee jerk reaction Inkeri froze, looking up to see not only Loki, but the Allfather and Thor observing from above. Which was all the time it took for Kaapo to pull the trigger, landing a stinging blast directly to her shin.

“Gah!” She fell to the ground and rolled out of the way of a barrage of several more blasts aimed at her legs.

“That was a cheap shot.” She groaned, hopping around him a little slower.

“But effective!” He answered cheerily, managing to hit her in the arm, causing her to drop her shield.

She took one more quick glance up to the group of royalty on the balcony. Odin and Thor were watching with amused, curious expressions at their little game while Loki stood behind them, his arms crossed and his lips twitched into an impressed smile.

It was all the motivation she needed.

Leaving the shield on the ground in a rush of newfound adrenaline, she came at Kaapo. Moving faster than he had thought possible, she ducked down and twirled around behind him, simultaneously catching the back of his knee and shoving him to the ground, gracefully kicking the gun out of his hand.

The crowd went silent.

“Yield.”

Kaapo looked up in shock to see the blade of her sword at his neck.

“I yield to thee, Inkeri of Asgard.” He laughed, feeling like a great gust of wind had been knocked out of him.

Suddenly a great cheer went out, as Einherjar rushed them excitedly. Inkeri grinned and helped Kaapo up as many of the men patted her on the back, and grabbing her upper arm in a show of camaraderie, some asking if they could try out the gun.

“Who taught you how to fight?” Kaapo wrapped an arm around her shoulders, clasping her into a quick hug.

“My father.” She smiled.

“Remind me never to pick a fight with him. We still haven’t named the thing.”

Inkeri opened her mouth to answer when a booming voice rang out behind them.

“I was thinking Liten Lyn has a nice ring to it.” Inkeri turned and immediately dropped to one knee, holding a fist to her chest as Thor approached, along with The Allfather and, of course, Loki.

She rose, facing Thor. “Little Lightning?” She smiled appreciatively.

“Yes, it is a fitting name for a powerful weapon.” Thor beamed down at her excitedly. It seemed as if she had finally earned his respect for the time being.

“Thank you, your highness. Liten Lyn it is.” She then locked eyes with the Allfather. _Or was it eye, singular?_   She thought.

Her eyes widened as she heard Loki’s deep chuckle bubble forth from his chest. Her gaze shot to him as he regarded her with amusement.

_Out. Of. My. Head._

If he’d heard her, he didn’t seem to act like it, and she turned her attention back to Odin, bowing before him as well. “You honor me with your presence, Allfather.”

“It seems as if you have bested our Kaapo.” He remarked good naturedly. So he was in a pleasant mood, thank the Norns.

Inkeri nodded silently.

“I look forward to learning what other innovations you have come up with, Inkeri, daughter of Geir.”

She bowed her head in respect to him, and with that, he was off, Thor patting her on the shoulder and trailing behind in his direction.

Inkeri let out a breath and stood, noticing that Loki had opted to stay behind.

Of course.

He smiled and approached her slowly, the confidence in his gait nearly making her knees knock together.

“I do believe you have something of mine.” He nodded to her hand. Inkeri narrowed her eyes, looking down at the sword, and her head snapped up to Kaapo who was watching them from the side of the ring, laughing with unfettered glee. As soon as he noted her scathing look, he quickly trotted out of sight into one of the bathing chambers.

“Figures.” She mumbled, turning back to Loki and holding the sword to him.

“Forgive me. I had no idea that it was yours.”

He took it, stepping closer to her than she would prefer, yet somehow still not close enough.

“All is forgiven. You have clearly proven your worth with it. Though I fear poor Kaapo will never be the same.”

Inkeri was almost embarrassingly mesmerized by him as she watched him sheath the sword into the scabbard on his belt.

“He will surely recover his dignity, in time.”

Inkeri limped forward a bit, suddenly feeling the urgent need to sit down.

The excitement was over, and the pain was returning.

Loki noticed immediately and reached out to her, steadying her on her uninjured arm. “And what about you?” He intoned. “Will the great warrior goddess of Asgard recover from her wounds?”

Inkeri sighed and let him lead her to the edge of the grounds where he sat her gently down on a stone bench. She leaned her head up against the wall behind her and watched curiously as Loki knelt to her side.

“May I?” He inquired, already beginning to remove her knee plate.

“I can heal myself.” She protested feebly.

“I know.”

Inkeri swallowed. She should’ve said no. Should’ve never put herself in this situation. She glanced down to see him looking up at her expectantly. “Go ahead then.” She sighed.

Carefully and gently he rolled up her pant leg, letting out a long whistle. “Powerful little device. You’ve already got a bruise forming.”

Inkeri watched, transfixed, as he softly ran two fingers down the length of her leg. She shivered, clenching her hands into fists. Loki looked up sharply, his thin lips curling into a magnificently satisfied grin.

“Everything alright, darling?”

“Yes. Yes. Perfectly fine, thank you.” She un-balled her hands and placed them in her lap.

“Hmm.” Suddenly he was up by her ear, removing the arm piece, and she wanted to scream with the unfairness of it all.

“Dislocated your shoulder.” He rumbled. Oh he was having so much fun with this.

“Feels like it.” She answered, attempting to run through as much of the Fibonacci Sequence in her head as she could.

_0, 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34, 55, 89, 144-_

Loki snickered, placing his entire palm on her bare shoulder. “233, 377, 610, 987, 1597, 2584, 4181?”

Inkeri glared at him. “Would you please get on with it?”

He stood, leaning forward to smooth a bit of dirt off of her cheek in the process. “I am already done.”

Inkeri rolled her arm around and nodded, standing as well. “Thank you.”

“You were magnificent out there today. Perhaps we can practice together again. I will give you the advantage, as I used to.” He verbally prodded her, watching with great interest as she removed the rest of Sif’s armor.

Inkeri smiled and shook her head. She looked up into his eyes to fire back an answer and caught herself. She could not, would not let this go too far. “Perhaps.” She frowned. “Although I am quite busy as of late.”

Avoiding what she was sure would be a look of disappointment from him, she gathered Sif’s armor.

“Right.” His tone took on its usual formality, and she nearly winced.

“Loki, please, I am sorry but-”

He cut her off with a charming smile, reaching for her hand to place a gentle kiss upon it. “I must go. I will leave you to the rest of your work. I will see you tomorrow still, won’t I? That is, unless you are too busy.” He interrupted.

Inkeri nearly rolled her eyes. She knew exactly what he was doing. She had also not forgotten that she had promised to accompany him to Thor’s party. She had been dreading it ever since. “Of course I will be there.”

Loki smiled. “Good. See you then darling.”

Inkeri watched him go feeling an unfamiliar ache begin to blossom in her chest.

Tomorrow she would go, be polite. But she had to end everything.

And she would probably have to hurt him with lies, to keep the truth from destroying him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> lillesøster- little sister
> 
> Please leave comments, I eat them for breakfast.


	8. Which Witch?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which the author takes like a year to break out of the writer's block, Inkeri picks the maple bar, and Jasper learns the meaning of life. And it's not 42.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> God this took forever to figure out! Sorry, if any of you all were still interested in reading this. Hopefully someone is still out there. *blinks* To be honest, I'm still not sure if I did this right. But I need to move on, because the actual plot is really interesting, I swear. 
> 
> Sorry about any grammar errors. I feel like after 30, and with the invention of autocorrect, my ability to make words has gone down hill a whole lot.

Chapter 8

 

Samantha Price stood in her small-but-cozy Manhattan apartment, shaking the kibble bag for the little dachshund that would momentarily come racing down the hall for his breakfast.

 

She laughed to herself as he seemingly appeared out of nowhere and barked twice, sitting up on his hind legs in perfectly still anticipation. As a reward, she knelt down and poured a small cup of food into his bowl, and rose to place the bag back under the kitchen sink.

 

Samantha looked out the tiny kitchen window that she was lucky enough to have onto a peaceful snow covered city, the wind kicking up small, playful flurries here and there, as if mother nature had not blasted them two days prior with all of her force and fury.

 

It had seemed as if winter would never come this year, the suffocating heat of July and August waning into a pleasantly deceptive soft warmth for all of the autumn months. But the long term New Yorkers, such as herself, always knew that the ice and snow were lurking right around the corner, poised to swiftly catch any newbies off guard, and freeze out even the most cold blooded of all types.

 

A confident knock at her door startled her from her city gazing, and she turned, Jasper giving a muted bark from where his face was still buried in the food bowl.

Which was odd, as he usually went bonkers at anyone trying to come into his home except for-

 

“Ingrid, is that you?” Samantha muttered more to herself than anyone else, walking to the peep hole and confirming her suspicions.

“Sam! It’s me!” Inkeri called out from the other side, clutching a brown leather satchel in one hand, and balancing a giant pink box in the other.

 

A bewildered Samantha pulled the latch out from the top lock of the door and opened it, stepping aside as the girl burst in merrily, looking, she noted, windblown and tired with a great big smile plastered on her face.

 

“Samantha! It’s so lovely to see you again. Happy International Donut Day! I’m sorry that I haven’t been able to call, what with cell service in Norway and all, and then I was terribly busy with work, and catching up with my parents.”

 

Samantha crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow as she watched her normally reserved friend chatter away like a parrot in a pet store.

 

“But, I’m here now, and that’s what really matters- oh hello Jasper- and I brought you these donuts that I thought we could share together, I’ll be in town for a little while, just clearing up some things with my old lease,” She set the donuts down on the table and began to pet the dog, “But anyways, it’s good to see you, how are, how have you been?”

 

Samantha was quiet for a moment as she reeled from the scene that had just unfolded before her.

 

“I have been marvelous, and I’m so glad you’re in town. I was beginning to worry about you.” She smiled, reaching to pull Inkeri into a hug as she stood after she had placated Jasper with one final scratch behind the ears.

 

“Sit down, I’ll pour us both some coffee for those donuts and we can catch up.”

 

“Sounds great!” Inkeri laughed a bit too cheerily, and sat, picking up a little weiner dog salt shaker from the table.

 

“Hey, these are really quite cute, are they new? Have you gone thrifting since I left?”

 

Samantha chuckled and didn’t answer, placing a cup of her special French roast blend that was still warm from the pot she had brewed earlier that morning on the table for each of them. It wasn’t until after she had set two plates, cream and sugar, and a donut out for each of them that she sat down and spoke.

 

“Ingrid, International Donut Day is in June, I’ve been thrifting a few times, and I’ve had those salt and pepper shakers for the past 20 years.”

 

The woman nonchalantly took a sip of coffee and smiled. And waited.

 

Inkeri’s smile slowly faded, and she knew she had been made.

 

“Yes, dear, I’ve caught you. Not that you ever fooled me to begin with,” Samantha laughed good-naturedly.

 

“Now, spill. The thing about the cell service, I’ll buy. I’ll even pretend like they don’t have internet access up there, even though I know they do. But no matter. Something must have happened while you were home, and judging by the fact that you haven’t come out with it, I’m going to assume that you’ve embarrassed yourself in some way, and what’s his name?”

 

Inkeri slouched down into her chair and sighed, picking at the maple glazed in front of her.

 

“I’m sorry, Sam. I have no excuse for not keeping in contact. I’m a rotten friend.”

 

Samantha reached forward and gave Inkeri’s hand a reassuring squeeze.

 

“You know I’ll always love you, honey, no matter what. What’s his name?”

 

Inkeri squeezed back, laughing miserably while rubbing her eyes.

 

“Loki, and I’ve made an enormous mistake.”

 

Samantha raised an eyebrow.

 

“So you’ve moved from dating old boring what's-his-name up to the regular old Norse God of Mischief? Pretty classy.”

 

Inkeri snickered and took a small bite of her donut.

 

“It’s a very common Scandinavian name.”

 

“Alright, and what happened with this Loki fellow?”

 

Exhaling deeply, Inkeri stood up and walked to the window.

 

“Sam, that’s the thing, the whole story is so completely insane, I'm afraid you won't believe me.”

 

“Well try me honey. I don’t have anywhere to be right now but right here with you.”

 

Inkeri touched a finger to the light condensation on the freezing window, absently drawing a line.

 

“We, we grew up together. We were good friends, but I hadn’t seen him for years.” She turned, finally sinking into the nearby couch, trying to piece together all that she could in a way that Samantha would understand.

 

“His family is one of the most affluent in the whole country. Everyone knows who they are. His only sibling-his brother- has always been something of a golden child to his father. Don’t get me wrong, they love Loki as well, but there’s always been some unspoken competition there, a little jealousy.”

 

Samantha nodded and came to join her on the couch.

 

“So you saw him again? After a long time?”

 

“Yes.” Inkeri sniffed, thoroughly embarrassed at the amount of liquid that would for some reason not dry from her eyes.

 

“We had dinner. It was wonderful. _He_ is wonderful.”

 

“But?” Samantha prodded.

 

“But in seeking something that should have been simple I have stumbled upon a tangled web of his family’s lies, and I have not been more confused.”

 

Inkeri stopped to think for a moment, unsure of how to continue.

 

“A few weeks ago, I was reviewing some very old records from the hospital in Oslo, where Loki was born. I discovered the disturbing reality that he does not in fact belong to the only family he has ever known, and what is more, his true relatives are considered to be...rivals of sorts of his father. So he was taught to regard these people with nothing but hate as he grew up. I hope this is all making sense, although it sounds quite ridiculous when I say it aloud.”

 

Samantha took her hand.

 

“So, let me get this straight- the boy lives in the shadow of his brother his whole life, probably feels like an outcast, and I’m guessing has no idea that he’s secretly been adopted from the Montagues or the Capulets or whomever, and you find out, but you can’t tell him, and you feel too guilty to be with him?”

 

“That about sums it up.”

 

Samantha let out a long whistle.

 

“Well I can see why you hadn’t called. It’s like a regular old Days of Our Lives up there.”

 

“Well, there’s more.” Inkeri sighed.

 

“Oh?”

 

“Well, I’ve been trying my best to avoid him since I found out. But the more I do, the more it seems like he has pursued me. Then everything sort of came to a head a few days ago when he reminded me that I had promised to accompany him to a...party...yesterday evening, congratulating his brother on the fact that he is to soon take over the family business from his father. I wanted to go, and I was going to end things for good, I swear it! Stop wherever this was going-”

 

“But you bailed and ran all the way back to the United States so you wouldn’t have to face him?”

 

Inkeri put her head in her hands and nodded.

 

Samantha reached over her, rubbing her back comfortingly.

 

“Hmm. Sounds logical. Also, just how much in love with this boy are you? I’m thinking it’s the honeymoon in Paris and then you’ll retire early and have two kids named Sigrid and Ingvar kind of thing.”

 

“Sam, this isn’t helping! I don’t know what to do. I’ve never been so unsure of anything in my entire life.”

 

“Oh honey,” She sighed. “There’s not any answer I could give you to get out of this one, although I wish there was. But you can’t run away from him, or from your problems. If you really care about him, if he’s really that special, then you got to take a chance with him.” Samantha placed a sad glance on the picture of her with her late husband hanging above the mantle of the fireplace. “Life’s too short, you know?”

 

Inkeri looked up, following her friend’s gaze.

 

“How long has it been?”

 

“Five years,” Samantha whispered. “Five years, and there’s not one morning I don’t reach over to the other side of the bed, thinking he’s there.”

 

Inkeri could do nothing but nod quietly, putting her arm around the woman.

 

“Thank-you,” Inkeri finally concluded after a time. “For helping me put things into perspective, I-”

 

Before she could finish, there was a firm knock at the door. It was a polite knock, but also authoritative, one that suggested many years of fine breeding and education, and that rang of a very regal bearing.

 

Samantha stood up, looking at Jasper who eyed the door with a very uncharacteristic quiet curiosity.

 

Inkeri’s eyes widened as she shot up from the couch like a rocket.

 

“ _Det kan ikke være sant_ , oh gods no.”

 

Samantha turned to her, and upon seeing the state her young friend was in, a wide, knowing grin began to form on her face.

 

“Someone you know, dear?”

 

Inkeri had all but turned white as she looked down at the very interesting beige carpet and fiddled with the hem of her shirt.

 

“Possibly.”

 

Inkeri jumped as the knock came again, a little more insistent, and with much less of its usual refined patience this time.

 

Samantha laughed and peered through the peephole. “Well hello tall, dark, and well dressed. How did he figure out that you were here?”

 

“Oh, I can only imagine.” Inkeri mumbled, silently cursing Heimdall.

 

“Well, should I get the door or would you like to? Because I think he knows that we’re in here. These Manhattan apartment walls are not known for being very thick.”

 

Inkeri scoffed, took a deep breath, and looked up.

 

“No. No, I’ll answer.”

 

Steeling herself, she barreled up to the door and swung it open, not at all prepared for the sight of him as she had hoped she would be.

 

And of course, as usual, the man was magnificent.

 

Inkeri’s breath caught rather embarrassingly in her throat as she took him in, all 6 foot 2 inches of him, in extremely well tailored trousers, a tight fitting button down with the sleeves rolled up, and an ever-so-perfectly-done-in-a-windsor-knot tie. All black of course. Because what other color would there be?

 

“I’m wearing jeans.” She coughed out while leaning awkwardly onto the door frame. She could practically feel Samantha’s glee at the whole situation radiating from her in waves.

 

Loki smiled. Not just any smile, mind you, but the kind he liked to save to make people wonder if they would possibly die were he any more charming.

 

“Inkeri. So nice to see you well. Are you going to invite me in to meet your friend, or shall we catch up out here in this cold, abysmal hallway?”

 

Inkeri cleared her throat and stepped aside for him, catching Samantha’s eye as he walked past and into the kitchen.

 

“Ahem, Loki, this is Samantha Price, Samantha, Loki.”

 

“Enchanted.” Loki took Samantha’s hand in a firm shake.

 

Inkeri found herself biting back a smile as her friend nearly swooned.

 

“Well, it’s a pleasure to meet you. Ingrid was just telling me all about you.”

 

Loki cocked an eyebrow, glancing over to Inkeri.

 

“Oh? And what did our dear _Ingrid_ have to say about me?”

 

“Nothing but good things, I promise.”

 

“Ah, well, forgive me for intruding upon you Miss Samantha, but I was concerned you see, as Ingrid had all but disappeared, and no one, save for a close family friend had known where she’d gone.”

 

Inkeri glared upwards.

 

“Well that’s quite alright.” Samantha nearly giggled, as she realized he was still cordially holding her hand. “Would you like some coffee and donuts, dear?”

 

Loki shot a quizzical glance toward Inkeri.

 

_It’s food._

 

_Ah, well, I am truly humbled that you feel so comfortable to at least communicate so intimately with me again. Perhaps if you had done so to tell me where you’d gone, I would not have had to come all the way down to this dirty little planet and find you._

 

_Just tell her you want the donut!_

 

_That is not what I came here for._

 

Samantha cleared her throat, oblivious to all except for a rather intense staring contest between the two.

 

“Or, I could get a knife. Would anyone like a piece of tension? We also have vodka.”

 

“He likes donuts.” Inkeri blurted out, not shifting her glare from Loki.

 

“Alright, well. I’ll just go in the kitchen for a while and, you know, put some on a plate.”

 

“If you insist on having this conversation, we may discontinue the Allspeak. She will not understand the old tongue.” Inkeri sighed, rubbing her temples.

 

“Whatever for? I have nothing to hide from your human. Do you?”

 

“She’s not my-” Inkeri paused. “You’re trying to anger me aren’t you?”

 

“And what if I were?” He smiled.

 

_Then it would not be out of character for you I suppose._

 

 _Ah, that is better._  Loki sat, long legs sprawled in typical god-like fashion on what once seemed like a large sofa.

 

 _Come, sit._ He motioned with his hand.

 

Inkeri looked at him suspiciously, wondering where she was to fit on the couch that he was so gracefully occupying. Unless, that is, he wanted her to sit on his-

 

 _I think I’ll stand, if it’s all the same to you._ She blushed.

 

Instead of responding, he leaned forward, elbows on his knees, and eyed her, and suddenly she felt very much like the star attraction in his own personal inquisition.

 

“Why did you run from me, little scientist?” He intoned, his eyes like a snake hypnotizing its prey.

 

Before Inkeri could even manage to think of any coherent answer, Samantha came back into the room, carrying the plate of donuts. She stopped, taking in the scene before her.

 

“Looks like it’s time to take Jasper for a walk!” She put the donuts down on the coffee table.

 

Inkeri’s eyes widened and she gave a nearly imperceptible shake of the head to Samantha.

 

Ignoring it, Samantha fetched her snow coat, and the dog’s collar and sweater.

 

“We’ll be gone for a little while! Seems like you two have some catching up to do. Don’t worry about me!”

  
  
Inkeri turned, watching her scuttle out, and tried to convey some last signal of S.O.S. without actually invading her mind.

 

It wasn’t working.

 

“Goodbye dears. And nice to meet you, Loki.”

 

By now, Jasper was excitedly bounding at their feet, waiting expectantly to go out, as it was a time that he did not actually normally do so. Samantha pulled Inkeri into a quick hug. “He’s hot! Don’t screw it up.” She whispered.

 

Inkeri winced, knowing there was absolutely no way that her Seidr enhanced friend had not heard that.

 

“Thank-you. So Much. Sam.”

 

“Ha! You’re welcome. Bye bye!”

 

And with that, she was gone, Jasper in the lead and barking merrily out the door.

 

There were a million things running through her mind. None of which seemed to want to fall out of her mouth yet.

 

“So. This is Midgard.” She babbled.

 

He leaned back again. “Yes. I’ve been here before.” He reminded her, cutting straight to the chase. “Why did you run away?”

 

Inkeri sighed and turned from his damned serpent's eyes. She couldn’t take any of this anymore.

 

“I ran because…” She trailed off, unsure of what to say.

 

“Because why?” He stood, and suddenly he was towering over her, pulling her chin up to look at him once more.

 

“Because you didn’t have the heart to tell me that you didn’t want me? Did you feel sorry for me?” He demanded.

 

“No!” She exclaimed, noticing for the first time that under his stern veneer, he was just as vulnerable and terrified as she was.

 

“I ran because I was afraid.”

 

His expression softened then, and he let go of her.

 

“Afraid of what, _min_ _kjære?_ ”

 

She winced at his term of endearment, closing her glistening eyes and shaking her head.

 

“We are a complex problem you and I. You are a prince, and I am no one.” She fumbled out lamely, not daring to look at him.

 

His eyes turned dark, and he grabbed her forearm, bringing her face so close to his she could barely breathe. She would have yelped at the sight of him, had she not swallowed her voice.

 

“Lie to me again, Inkeri.” He dared, his mouth twisting into a grin that would frighten the most seasoned of criminals. At this point she couldn’t tell if he was enjoying himself or if he was furious. Though knowing him, it was probably a bit of both.

 

She almost did, just to see what would happen.

 

She shrugged, yanking from his grip and feeling her sadness slip into something a little more angry.

 

“Then what do you wish to hear?” She growled. “Would you like to hear that I ran from you because this is all too much? Because I am completely overwhelmed by the feelings I now have for you, my childhood friend, and that I have no idea what to do about them, and then you follow me all the way down here, intruding into the private home of my friend, wearing this-” She grabbed at his infuriating black silk tie, failing to notice the way his eyes had dilated as her fingers grazed his chest.

 

“Sam thinks I’m going to marry you, Kaapo makes nothing but jokes, I never wanted to go to Thor’s imbecilic celebration, and, and, this whole situation is absolutely ridiculous!” She concluded with a huff.

 

“I couldn’t agree more,” Loki purred, bridging the short gap between them and kissing her with such swift force that she nearly would have fallen backwards had he not caught her in his arms.

 

She responded immediately, surprising herself, gently winding her fingers into his raven hair as she pulled him deeper.

 

Inkeri was the first to pull away, resting her forehead on his, she licked her lips.

 

In a surprisingly loving gesture, he leaned into her, nuzzling her cheek for a sweet kiss.

 

The one hand that was not still clutching his hair reached around to his neck, and she sighed softly into his ear.

 

“Loki, I-”

 

Before she could continue, the apartment door burst open with an extremely apologetic Samantha and one sausage dog hot on her heels.

 

“I uh, I forgot my cell phone. Damn. Sorry you two, carry on!”

 

Inkeri pulled away regretfully, not at all surprised at the amused look on Loki’s face at having been caught with his hand in the proverbial candy jar.

 

“It’s okay Sam. I should probably get going. I did come down here to check on my lease after all, and then head back home.”

 

Samantha gave her the you’re-not-getting-away-that-easy side eye. “Are you sure dear? You just got here, after all.”

 

Loki grinned, and took Inkeri’s hand. “Yes darling, why leave so soon? I would love to get to know your Samantha.”

 

Inkeri fought the urge to kick him in his pretty shin.

 

“Alright, if you both insist. We can stay for a while.”

 

“Excellent!” Loki clapped. “Now, where is this vodka you speak of?”

 

“In the kitchen, third shelf from the sink.” Samantha called out as Loki disappeared, making himself quite at home.

 

Inkeri went to follow, but stopped short as Samantha grabbed her sleeve.

 

“Did you tell him?” She whispered, certain he couldn’t hear over the banging and fumbling taking place in the kitchen.

 

Inkeri looked away, disgusted with herself.

 

“I can’t. I just can’t do it Sam.”

 

The old woman stayed silent as she watched her friend move into the kitchen.

 

“This whole thing is gonna turn into a damned mess one day.” She whispered to herself, shaking her head.

 

Leaning on the doorframe, she watched the two interact and smiled to herself, being reminded of times long passed.

 

“Yep. a god damned mess.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hopefully I'm keeping good Loki true to his character. Please let me know if not! 
> 
> Chapter title came from Florence and The Machine's "Which Witch", which (ha) I was listening to heavily when I wrote the first, way, waaaaayyy cheesy version of this scene over on fanfic. 
> 
> Thanks for reading!


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